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Gov’t will not scrap Special Petroleum Tax – Energy Ministry

Deputy Energy Minister Mohammed Amin Adams said the government will not remove SPT because it has already reviewed the special petroleum tax from 17.5—13percent.

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Speaking at a press conference on Thursday (September 20, 2018), Deputy Energy Minister Mohammed Amin Adams said despite the public calls for the taxes to be removed the government will not do that because it has already reviewed the special petroleum tax from 17.5—13percent.

His comment is coming after the recent hikes in prices of petroleum prices where a litre of diesel and petrol are being sold at GH¢5.18 and GH¢5.14 respectively.

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The Minority in Parliament subsequently demanded the immediate abolishing of the Special Petroleum Tax.

The Minority spokesperson on Energy, Adam Mutawakilu, said the Special Petroleum Tax introduced under the erstwhile Mahama administration has lived its usefulness and must go.

Other Energy think tanks have also called for the abolishing of the special petroleum levy.

But Deputy Energy Minister Mohammed Amin Adams said the government will not remove the SPT anytime soon.

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“What this means is that it’s now fixed. So if crude oil prices go up, the component of the SPT will remain the same it will not go up. These are some of the pragmatic measures we have put around the SPT to ensure that its effect is minimized for Ghanaians, and so as far as scrapping it completely, the Ministries of Finance and Energy are discussing other options and therefore when a decision  is made eventually the people of Ghana will know,” he stated.

On his part, the sector Minister John Peter Amewu said “without government intervention the prices of [petroleum product] today would have been GH¢5.54 per litre for petrol and GH¢5.55 per litre for diesel. So, what it means is that the price we are paying today, if the Mahama led administration is still in force you’ll be paying between 9-10percent higher than the current prices that Ghanaians are paying.  I think it’s time you give this government the recognition for caring for the people of this country.”

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