Comedian, Michael Blackson who expressed himself in a recent tweet regarding the taxes he paid for shipping goods into the country has been given insight on the high rate in imports by personnel at the Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA).
Despite the GRA’s calculations on goods at the port and how they are charged, he still finds the prices to be outrageous.
“The DHL guy that works with customs explained to me how the whole thing works, but I’m not completely satisfied with the answers or how they come up with their calculations. If they get these prices down, I think Ghana will make more money,” he lamented in a tweet.
“I think some of the fees are so ridiculous that people are finding other ways to bring things in here and that is taking money out of the pocket of the country,” he added.
This came after he lamented on the high taxes he paid in December, 2022.
In his tweet, “I have cousins in Ghana with no jobs and no income. Because the country lacked jobs, they wanted to open a store if I could help. I purchased about $10k of items, and when they arrived thru DHL, customs said they will need to pay $10k to retrieve them. IT MAKES NO SENSE @GhanaRevenue.”
However, he was later replied by the GRA that “Ghana currently uses the Harmonized System (HS) Customs Code to classify goods. Tariffs are based on value (ad valorem) or weight or volume (specific) and are subject to change. Most goods, unless they are totally exempt from customs duties, are subject to import duty, Value Added Tax (VAT), and certain other fees and charges.”
They also revealed that every tax imposed on the goods were solely backed by law and all they are doing is their job as an authority.
“Duty on imported goods is calculated based on what the Customs Law directs. We are only doing our job. If you have any evidence of extortion, report it anywhere you are comfortable,” GRA said.
Regardless, Michael Blackson says he understands that the tax system in Ghana is different from that of America and urges the government to do what they need to do.
Nevertheless, he is still agreeable to the fact that the taxes are outrageous.
He asked for the citizens to pay their taxes to enable the government get enough funds to develop the country.
