Analysts are worried that the new government value added tax on banking services may affect efforts to encourage more people to save with the commercial banks as customers are likely to pay more for any service rendered to them by a bank.
Commercial banks, together with the Ghana Revenue Authority, have agreed for a tax on their services to be implemented from May this year.
This could mean that the cost of some services offered by the financial institutions could go up by 17.5 percent unless they decide to absorb the cost.
Executive Secretary of the Bankers Association, D.K. Mensah explained how the tax would work.
“Assuming you buy an instrument from a bank, you pay it with your cedis but for doing that for you, I charge you a fee, let’s say 5 cedis on a product; government is saying that I should take another 17.5 percent on the fees to be paid into government chest.”
Since the announcement of the new tax, public backlash against it has been severe despite a belated government explanation that it was only targeted at non-core banking services.