Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Abraham Koomson
The Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has backed calls for the reversal of excise duty on fruit juices and sweetened beverages.
According to him, removing the tax policy is essential to prevent the beverage sector from imminent collapse.
In an interview with GhanaWeb Business, Koomson stated, “The fruit juice industry is suffocating as a result of the multiple and excessive taxes imposed by the government.”
He further explained, “Two years after the excise tax law took effect, the beverage manufacturing sector is struggling with extraordinarily high taxes, which hinder competitive production and distribution.”
In 2022, the government introduced the Excise Tax (Amendment) Bill 2022, imposing a 20% excise tax on locally produced mineral water and beverages.
Local manufacturers, along with the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), petitioned Parliament to suspend the bill for broader stakeholder consultation.
However, the GFL insists that imposing a 20% excise tax on some products, including sweetened beverages, requires urgent review, as local manufacturers are already burdened with at least 17 different taxes.
The GFL and AGI argue that multiple economic factors, including:
The increase of the policy rate to 28% by the Bank of Ghana,
• A 2.5% VAT increment,
• A 30% increase in electricity tariffs, and
• A 50% increase in water tariffs for industry (effective February 1, 2023), have collectively raised the cost of doing business in the country.
Despite appeals from the GFL, AGI, and other labour unions, the previous government implemented the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act 2023 (ACT 1093).
SA/MA
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