Reduction of ‘talk tax’ from 9% to 5% takes effect from today

Mobile subscribers and data users will from today Tuesday, September 15, 2020, enjoy longer durations of voice and data bundles but pay the same amount of money for recharges.

This is because mobile network operators will be reducing the Communication Service Tax (CST), also known as “talk tax” charged on the use of communication services in the country.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, during the presentation of the 2020 mid-year budget review announced that the talk tax will be reduced from 9 percent to 5 percent.

This formed part of the government’s effort to alleviate the plight of Ghanaians during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement to confirm the implementation of the new tariff, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Ken Ashigbey, said, “The tariff adjustment programme means when our customers pay the same price they would enjoy more, which is in line with the government’s measures in alleviating cost burden on citizens in the wake of the global pandemic.”

The statement added, “Mobile Network Operators will notify their customers on the completion of the modification exercise and provide further transparency on the adjusted tariffs of their products and services while offering other relevant information post usage of these services.”

This new development, according to the statement, comes after “effective dialogue and stakeholder
engagements led by the Finance Ministry as well as our supervising Ministry and agencies”.