Skip to main content

Bank’s start alerting customers on 17.5% VAT charges



By: Fred Yaw Sarpong

Some commercial banks in the country have started sending text messages to their respective customers, alerting them the new 17.5% value added tax (VAT) to be charge against them.
Among these banks are Stanbic Bank and Barclays. The text message read: ‘Dear value customer, with  the coming into force of the new VAT Act 870, banks are required to charge a 17.5% VAT on all services rendered for a fee, effective May 2014. Visit your nearest branch for further details.’
Some of the bank already charge their customers between GHc5 and GHc30 per a month on current accounts, depending on the bank.
From May 1, 2014, customers who pay GHc5 on current account per a month will be paying GHc5.875, GHc10 will now be GHc11.75 while GHc15 will now be GHc17.625.
However, the Ministry of Finance has denied reports indicating that commercial banks are to charge Value Added Tax (VAT) on salaries and savings accounts.
A statement signed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, he stated categorically that salaries, savings, deposits, loans and payment with cheques are all exempted from VAT.
According to the ministry, the new VAT Act, Act 870 only affects fees that are charged on non-core financial services such as data processing, legal, accounting, actuarial, notary and consulting services.
‘We also wish to state that this is not a new law, it has been in place since 1998. Banks were charging fees on services they were rendering. Banks are also already paying the VAT on inputs used to render these services,’ he added.
Hon. Forson stated that the Act 870 requires the Banks to register for VAT and they can offset the VAT against the VAT they charge. Therefore, the impact of the VAT is not the full 17.5% as being speculated.
‘VAT registered businesses/persons can also offset the VAT (input VAT) they pay to the banks against their VAT (output VAT),’ he added.
Daily Express gathered that the this enforcement of the tax obligation should have started from January 2nd 2014, but the banks were allowed till May to enable them to fully prepare to implement the new policy.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shortage of weighing cards hit major hospitals in Accra

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong- Daily Express There is scarcity of Child Health Records Book (weighing cards), in some major public hospitals in the capital, information reaching the Daily Express indicates. Checks by this paper revealed that while some of the hospitals have being encountering the shortage for about a year now, others started experiencing it six months ago. In place of the Child Health Record Book (weighing card), the nursing mothers are given a single card on which information of children are recorded on it. Those hospitals identified are the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle Bu Polyclinic, Kaneshie Polyclinic, Adabraka Polyclinic and the Ridge Hospital. At the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the nursing mothers are given yellow cards in place of the weighing cards. The Public Relations Secretariat at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital said such information has not come to their notice and for that matter they cannot comment on it. “We do not have some
Post a Comment
Read more

90 African Journalists entertain by Disney Africa

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong- Daily Express Mauritius Disney Africa welcomed 90 journalists from across Africa to their first ever showcase to media from the continent, at this year’s Multichoice Africa Content Showcase Extravaganza. On Thursday 3 September, guests received a Disney Movie ticket which gained them entry to the special outdoor screening, set under the stars on the lawns of the idyllic Outrigger Beach Resort in Mauritius . After receiving their own Disney picnic basket and blankets, full of delicious treats and filling food, the guests made their way to the seating area, replete with comfortable chairs and loungers. Once the Disney fans were settled, the vast outdoor screen lit up and the evening’s festivities were well under way. A welcome speech by Deirdre King, Head of Marketing for the Walt Disney Company Africa, preceded the screening of two animated shorts. The first, the Academy Award-nominated Get a Horse, featured Disney favourites like Mickey, Minni
Post a Comment
Read more

ABL launches chibuku super in Bolgatanga

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong sarpong007@gmail.com Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) has officially launched the Chibuku Super drink at Bolgatanga in the Upper East region with the aim of reaching a lot of customers. Mr. Thomas Nii Ponku, Supervisor in charge of Chibuku Super at ABL told Daily Express that the management decided to launch the Chibuku Super drink in the Upper East region because they’ve realized it is similar to a traditional drink in the region. “Chibuku is like a well developed pito, a traditional drink made from fermented millet or sorghum in the Northern part of Ghana. So the idea is to provide them with similar drink,” he added. Mr. Nii Ponku disclosed this when members of the Institute of Finance and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) toured the facility of ABL to acquaint themselves with the expansion project at the factory. He mentioned that after a feasibility study, they realized there is a potential market for the product in the northern part of Ghana
Post a Comment
Read more