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Gov't weighs in on controversial MoMo tax

He adds that if government were to tax mobile money transactions, there will broad consultation with stakeholders and done in a "sensitive" way.

He adds that if government were to tax mobile money transactions, there will be broad consultation with stakeholders and done in a "sensitive" way.

He was speaking at MTN’s Mobile Money Stakeholders Forum in Accra last Wednesday on the theme: "Digitizing Payments In Ghana: The Implications of Additional Taxes on Mobile Money Transaction at Kempinski Hotel."

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“Well I would say that in the coming budget, government has not made a decision to impose taxes on mobile money transactions as it is being suggested, but if at all government is minded to introduce any taxes related to mobile money, government will do so sensitive to the consequences and we’ll make sure that the balance is right," said the minister.

He added: “It is not possible to, at this point, say that government will do one thing or will not do one thing. What I can assure you is that it is with a lot of difficulty that we made those decisions to introduce the tax measures we did in the mid-year review.

"We will not introduce new taxes unless we genuinely believe that we are better off doing that in keeping the macroeconomy stable, so our businesses can grow and keep the economy strong.”

A report from the Bank of Ghana says mobile money transactions reached GH¢2.3 billion as of December 2017 while subscribers reached 30 million of June 2018.

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The amount represents a growth of 84.6 percent over the December 2016 amount of GH¢1.3 billion.

Government drew controversy in the lead up to the presentation of the 2018 budget when the minority in parliament said the Finance Minister was considering taxing mobile money transactions.

Government described the claim by the minority as a "distortion" of the 2018 budget.

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