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Cap taxes on fuel to prevent the introduction of new levies – COPEC to Parliament

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The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), is looking on Parliament to pass a legislation which will make sure that the quantum of taxes placed on petroleum products doesn’t exceed a particular threshold.

The comments follow notice of the implementation of the new tax policies introduced within the 2021 budget statement from 1st May, which consistent with COPEC is predicted to contribute to fuel prices rising to GHS6 per litre within the near future.

Speaking to Citi news on the upcoming changes to fuel prices, Duncan Amoah, the chief Secretary of COPEC, said Ghanaians are currently overstretched.

“For this reason, we’ve called on Parliament to place a capping on petroleum taxes. If it’s 30% to 35% that we are ready to collect, let’s put a particular capping thereon because at the present the taxes are in more than 50%. We do think that Ghanaians are simply being over squeezed, and surely we are getting to get to some extent where the difficulties and therefore the frustrations could also be expressed out there on the streets.”

Fuel prices within the country have consistently seen a gentle increase since the start of the year, sparking fears that buyers may end the year paying an all-time high rate per litre.

Current figures from the pumps show that prices of petrol and diesel which were both selling at a mean price of GHS 4.7 per litre in December 2020, are now being sold at a mean of GHS 5.74 at the pumps.

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers has indicated that the share change in prices within the last two months is an 11% increase.

While many have already and still express their displeasure over the fast increasing price at the pumps, things don’t appear to seem better within the short to medium term.

This is because government has proposed a 5.7 percent increment in prices of petrol and diesel as a part of new levies it’s imposing on Ghanaians.

Petrol and diesel are the foremost patronized fuel products in Ghana, and any increase usually affects transport fares and impacts the value of general goods.

Based on historical data from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) notice that since 2015, fuel prices have doubled; from a mean of GHS 2.7 per litre then to GHS 5.4 per litre on the average currently.

With the proposed new levies expected to further increase the quantity, the chief Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah has called on parliament to kick against the government’s proposal to extend levies on petroleum products to make sure that Ghanaians aren’t overburdened.