The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Marketers Companies Association of Ghana is asking the government to reconsider the announced 18-pesewa upward adjustment on a kilogram of LPG.

According to the association, the tax will further worsen the plight of consumers and subsequently lead to a reduction in the use of the product. The association further indicated that the tax is alien because it was not captured in the 2021 budget statement.

Speaking to Citi News, the Vice Chairman of the LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana Gabriel Kumi described the move as harsh and inconsiderate.

“We are very much aware that the government has set up an objective to increase the penetration of LPG from the current 25 percent to 50 percent by the end of the year. But we believe that the current price of the product will make the attainment of that goal impossible.” Currently, LPG is being sold at GHS 6.30 per kilo which Mr. Kumi noted was “about the highest in West Africa.”

“That is why we are so surprised that the government would want to go ahead and introduce more taxes to defeat its own objective of trying to increase access of penetration of LPG in Ghana,” he added.

Ghanaians are also expected to pay more taxes on fuel products like the Sanitation and Pollution Levy,10 pesewas, on the price per litre of petrol/diesel under the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA). The other proposed tax in the budget is the COVID-19 Health Levy of one percent on VAT Flat Rate Scheme and one percent on the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) as part of revenue measures to help the economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.