The government is proposing a new tax on petroleum products following the 2021 budget.
This new tax, the Sanitation and Pollution Levy, is to fund efforts to fund investment in the areas of sanitation and pollution.
The levy is for 10 pesewas on the price per litre of petrol/diesel under the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA).
If the proposal is accepted, Ghanaians will see further increases in petroleum prices at the pump.
In the 2021 budget, the caretaker Minister for Finance, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, outlined “critical investments that have to be made for the benefit and dignity of all Ghanaians”.
Among others, the government wants to support fumigation of public spaces, schools, health centres and markets; revamp or reconstruct poorly managed landfill facilities; and construct more waste treatment plants both solid and liquid in selected locations across the country.
“These will ensure sustainable sanitation management, improve the quality of life and reduce the number of deaths and diseases from poor sanitation,” the caretaker Minister for Finance said.
The government wants to use the funds from the levy to:
- Improve urban air quality and combat air pollution;
- Support the re-engineering of landfill sites at Kpone and Oti;
- Support fumigation of public spaces, schools, health centres and markets; iv. Revamp/reconstruct poorly managed landfill facilities;
- Construct more sustainable state-of-the-art waste treatment plants both solid and liquid in selected locations across the country;
- Construct waste recycling and compost plants across the country;
- Construct more sanitation facilities to accelerate the elimination of open defecation.
- Construct final treatment and disposal sites for solid and liquid waste;
- Provide dedicated support for the annual maintenance and management of major landfill sites and other waste treatment plants and facilities across the country; and
- Construct medical waste treatment facilities to prevent generation of infectious diseases especially under the Coronavirus Treatment Programme.
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.
