Parliament has finally passed the Communication Service Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019 after its Third Reading.
The motion on the Third Reading of the Bill was moved by the Deputy Minister for Finance and the Member of Parliament for Atiwa East, Mrs. Abena Osei-Asare, and was seconded by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications, Mr. Fredrick Opare-Ansah.
The Bill sought to amend the Communications Service Tax Act, 2008 (Act 754), to revise the rate for the Communication Service Tax.
The content of the Communication Service Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019, is made up of two clauses.
Clause 1 seeks to amend Section 3 of Act 754, to increase the rate of tax from 6 percent to 9 percent of the charge for the use of the Communication service.
Clause 2 seeks to amend Section 5 of Act 754, to adjust the sharing ratio by providing for at least 20 percent of 6 percentage points of the tax to be used to finance the National Youth Employment Programme.
The Communication Service Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was presented to Parliament and read the First Time on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 by the Deputy Minister for Finance, Mrs. Abena Osei-Asare on behalf of the Minister responsible for Finance.
The Bill was subsequently referred to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance for consideration and report in accordance with Article 174 of the 1992 Constitution and Order 169 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
