The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has debunked media reports indicating that commercial banks have been directed to charge a 20% service tax on streaming and other online platfroms including Artificial Intelligence tools such as ChatGPT.

There are reports that the banks have been mandated to collect the 20% tax ensuring that anytime consumers subscribe to the music, movie streaming and other online platforms, they are directly deducted and the taxes remitted to the GRA.

The tax convers apps such as Spotify, Netflix, Showmax, Disney+ and productivity software including Microsoft 365, Adobe, Zoom and Google Workspace as well as online advertising services offered by Google, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn.

This announcement sparked mixed reactions from the Ghanaian populace with majority of them expressing their concerns.

But the Commissioner General of the GRA, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, in an interview on Joy FM's morning show, provided clarifications.

He refuted the claims that the institution or government will be imposing a new tax on the section of the citizenry patrionising these platforms.

According to him, this tax which falls under the Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151) is not a new thing, rather it is only the collection mechanism that has been revised with the banks being authorized to collect the taxes directly and pay them to GRA.

He emphasised that there will be no additional charge on subscriptions or the services that the consumers enjoy from the affected platforms.

"This system is not adding another 20 percent to what we already pay. It is already embedded and consumers are paying. So, it is only a smart way that we want to collect. So, today, we have close to about 92 companies that are remitting the VAT to us. Nothing will change in terms of pricing from that 92 and merchant or entities", he explained.

Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, however, highlighted that there are some 100 emerging ones which are yet to be captured in the tax net.

 "...there are emerging ones and as they come, we have identified about a 100 new emerging ones who today are not charging the VAT and those ones, gradually as they roll, we roll them on...This is for servicing; it is not for product. The reason why we haven't added products or goods is that the goods...come through our borders either through the airport, by air or through the sea, by ship and when you go through any of these borders, taxes including duties and VAT is calculated at the point the goods enter the country.

 "So, it is not going to affect goods or tangible product at the moment. In future, we may consider to include it and when they arrive, the consumer already have a proof of receipt to show that the taxes have been paid and they will just collect back. This is not part of the initial rollout", he concluded.