The American Chamber of Commerce engaged the head of tax policy at the ministry of finance on Thursday, July 1st in Accra to discuss the government’s role out of taxing the digital economy.
The Chamber members present were drawn from the digital sector and it was an opportunity for them to make input into the ongoing taxation of the digital economy.
Mr. Daniel Nuer, Head of Tax Policy at the Ministry of Finance outlined the legal regimes for taxation of the digital economy. He also assured his audience that government will soon produce guidelines to define the process of paying taxes within the digital sector. “Our VAT and Income Tax laws have provisions for tax e-commerce activities, the guidelines to implement these laws will soon be available to assist companies to be compliant especially for non-resident entities.”
The discussions also addressed the issue of taxation on micropayments made online, the expansion of payment options, and the plight of non-resident entities in the digital economy. PwC and KPMG made presentations on best practices from some jurisdictions on the topic and encouraged the ministry to make the guidelines readily available.
Members of the committee present or represented at this meeting, included; VISA, Mastercard, TechGulf, Uber, Emergent, American Tower Corporation, Google, and officials of the U.S Embassy.
