Government could meet GHS300m tax target from luxury vehicles

Economist, Dr. Ebo Tuckson is hopeful government could meet its 300 million cedis revenue target from luxury cars.

Government announced through the mid-year budget review that it will raise the said amount between August and December 2018.

Dr. Tuckson says his confidence in governments’ ability to collect more, due to the large number of vehicles with engine size of 3.0 and above.

Dr. Tuckson said the tax should help government in meeting its revised revenue targets for this year and beyond.

“300 million Cedis, yes why not. What it means is that from 1st of August anybody who is going to renew his/her roadworthy, and those cars that are coming in and getting new licenses will start paying. So the 300 Million Cedis is feasible, given the number of such cars.”

Dr, Tuckson stated that he was certain government’s projections are based on figures it’s got from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

“I’m certain the Ministry of Finance got data from the DVLA to know how many of such cars we have here. The DVLA would also have data on the cars that are for commercial purposes hence will be exempted from this levy. For the 5 months (August to December) government should be able to collect more.”

Dr. Ebo Tuckson however expressed apprehension about governments’ ability to raise its target of 500 million Ghana Cedis from the recalibrated Value Added Tax (VAT) regime.

“If demand for goods that end up seeing a price hike falls then government will have some difficulty meeting its target.”