17.5% VAT: Banks agree not to tax customers

Commercial banks in Ghana have agreed not to charge customers 17.5% VAT on salaries, savings, deposits, investments, interests and loans.

At an emergency meeting with the finance ministry on Thursday, Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Association of Bankers on Thursday over the implementation of the tax, the banks agreed to levy only fees or commissions charged on some financial services as spelt out in Act 870, 2013.

Implementation of the tax on some aspects of banking services was expected to have started from May but has now been postponed to June 1, 2014.

In the interim, the ministry and the banks will start an education drive on the new tax.

Pressure group Alliance for Accountable Governance on Thursday issued a week’s ultimatum to the government to immediately withdraw the tax or face a demonstration.