The National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described as needless the Sanitation Levy (borla’ tax) charged on petroleum products.
Mr. Sammy Gyamfi at a press briefing on Wednesday blamed the skyrocketing prices of fuel on such levies.
Among other things, the Communication Officer asked the incumbent administration to scrap the Special Petroleum Tax, Energy Sector Levy of 20 pesewas per liter of diesel and Petrol and 18 pesewas per kilogram of LPG.
In his view, the aforementioned levies have “outlived their usefulness and are needless”
“You will all recall how the NPP while in opposition berated the erstwhile NDC/Mahama government for introducing this tax, labeled it as a nuisance tax and promised to scrap same if elected. Interestingly, since coming into office, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has changed the SPT from an ad valorem tax of 41 Pesewas as at December 2016 to a straight tax of 46 pesewas per litre of petrol and diesel.
“Even though the Special Petroleum Tax has outlived its usefulness owing to the fact that the international market price of crude oil has in recent time risen to as high as $117 per barrel- a situation that has given government huge windfall profit as captured at paragraph 27 of the 2022 Mid-year budget statement, the insensitive Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government continues to charge Ghanaians a Special Petrol Tax of 46 pesewas on every liter of diesel and petrol even in these difficult times,” Mr. Gyamfi said.
As such, he called for the tax measures to be repealed to ease the excruciating hardship citizens are currently experiencing.
Mr. Gyamfi opined that although the incumbent government is intolerant to criticisms, the opposition will not stand aloof for a group of “incompetent” hands to run the country into a ditch.
“As a responsible opposition and indeed, a government in waiting, we in the NDC cannot sit aloof while our economy descends into the precipice.
“Despite the recalcitrance of this government and its sometimes-antagonistic attitude to constructive criticism and ideas, we cannot afford to allow the present state of affairs to continue to fester. It is for this reason that we call on Ghanaians to join us in demanding that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government takes urgent steps to ameliorate our suffering and help stabilize the economy,” he stated.