Agyapa Royalties won’t manage taxes in a tax haven – Oppong-Nkrumah

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has indicated that Agyapa Royalties will not manage the Ghanaian mineral royalties in a tax haven.

According to him, Agyapa Royalties are “set up in Jersey as a tax haven, to attract investors to frontload share flotation”.

Oppong-Nkrumah said on Joy News’ PM express Monday: “Agyapa is a Ghanaian company but ARG is the foreign leg [...] if you want to attract investors to bring in their money to fund the 40% share flotation. We’re offering them tax incentives for that money they are bringing in. When the royalties accrue to the entity, Agyapa, the shareholders therein including the government of Ghana will not be paying taxes on the earnings therefrom, but if they proceed to invest that money in any other investible vehicle they’ll be paying taxes on it.

He continued: “In this country, we sit in Parliament on a daily basis and [give] tax concessions to several entities...”

Oppong-Nkrumah insisted that Agyapa Royalties will not be paying tax because royalties in itself are tax and there is no way tax is paid on tax.

“Where have you heard we pay tax on tax?” he asked.

He further added: “I’m saying to you that you don’t pay taxes on royalties. If anybody has a substantive thing against this transaction, let him raise it but this cooked up story of Osafo-Maafo’s son and this one's friend, I think it is becoming a beggared argument in this country. This is a fine transaction. Let us stop bastardizing transactions that mean well for the republic. If there’s something untoward here, somebody should raise it but for all I know, you don’t tax royalties. Royalties in [the] first place [are] more or less a tax; you don’t pay a tax on a tax,” he charged.