Organised Labour has suspended a planned march to protest the 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity.
The decision to suspend the demonstration follows an official communication from the Ministry of Finance to the labour group about the suspension of the tax.
Dr. Yaw Baah, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress, speaking at the press conference said labour will oppose unfavourable tax policies.
He warned that the demonstration would proceed if the government failed to immediately withdraw the policy entirely.
According to new taxes would further worsen the plight of workers who are already going through hardship.
The government has officially suspended the implementation of the 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on domestic consumption of electricity.
The Ministry of Finance has therefore directed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) to put the charging of the levy on hold.
This was contained in a press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
The Ministry explained that the suspension of the implementation is to allow for extensive dialogue and also to get the buy-in of industry players and labour unions.
“On behalf of the government, the Ministry would like to inform ECG and NEDCO to suspend the implementation of the VAT directive pending further engagements with key stakeholders including organized labour”, portions of the statement read.
“The Ministry expects that these engagements will birth innovative, robust, and inclusive approaches to bridging the existing fiscal gap, while bolstering economic resilience”, the Ministry’s release said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana