The Okada Riders Association is set to petition the Ministry of Transport to reconsider reducing the emissions levy.
The Emissions Levy Act, 2023(Act 1112), imposes a levy on carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for internal combustion engine vehicles started yesterday.
The levy is based on the type of vehicle and its engine capacity.
Motorcycles and tricycles are to pay a fee of Gh₵75 annually while motor vehicles, buses and coaches up with 3000 centimetres are to pay a fee of Gh₵150 annually.
Also, larger vehicles above 3000 cubic centimetres cargo trucks and articulated trucks are to pay Gh₵300 anually.
As a result of this, the secretary of the Okada Riders Association, Majid Amid has lamented the amount of been High and their intention to petition the government.
In an interview, Majid Amid mentioned that, “it is too much. People are suffering. You didn’t give us jobs, you did not do anything for us and yet you want us to pay Gh₵75. We will hold another meeting and write a petition to the government and the whole Ghana that enough is enough”.
“If they do not reduce the levy, we will go out and demonstrate against this government. By Monday the petition will be ready and we will send it to the Minister,” he said.
Read Also >>> GRA BEGINS IMPLEMENTATION OF EMISSIONS LEVY ACT, 2023 TODAY
In a related story, National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, is urging the Nana Akufo-Addo government to immediately withdraw the controversial Emissions Levy.
He asserts that emission levies are typically imposed on developed nations that have embraced electric cars to address climate change.
The National Organiser of the party believes the new levy, if implemented fully, will compound the already harsh economic conditions in the country, stressing that the timing is wrong.
In an interview with Citi News, Nana B said, “Yes, we understand the need for the government to raise revenue, but we also need to balance it with the sentiments of the people. I think this is not the right time. In as much, as a country, we want to stand by the government in times of this difficult era, when we want to raise revenue and make sure that the economy is back and in shape, some of these taxes for me are a bit problematic. That is why I’m saying that the government must withdraw this tax.”
Read Also >>>> GUTA CALLS FOR SUSPENSION OF CONTROVERSIAL EMISSION LEVY
The government on February 1, 2024, introduced a new tax policy on carbon dioxide equivalent emissions on internal combustion engine vehicles.
Stakeholders, including the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), have kicked against the move by the government.
Read Also >>>>> FULL DETAILS: GHANA’S EMISSIONS LEVY ACT, 2023 (ACT 1112)
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