MTN Group Slammed With $773 Million Tax Bill, Penalties in Ghana, Firm Rejects
- MTN Group has been slammed with a tax bill and penalties to the tune of $773 million in Ghana
- The company said the Ghanaian Revenue Authority (GRA) wrongly calculated its earnings by using the wrong methods and a new consultant
- The Group said that GRA’s claims are unreliable and strongly disputes them
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MTN Group has vehemently disputed the $773 million back-tax bill, penalties and interest charges slammed on its subsidiary in Ghana.
The firm said in a statement on Friday, January 13, 2023, that the Ghana Revenue Agency’s claims are not reliable, according to reports.
Source: Facebook
MTN Group faults Ghanaiah authorities
Africa’s largest telecom company said it received the notice that the bill is for the period between 2014 and 2018, implying that MTN under-declared its revenue in Ghana by 30 per cent.
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MTN said:
“MTN Ghana believes that the taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment and has resolved to vigorously defend MTN Ghana’s position on the assessment,” the telco said.
“MTN Ghana strongly disputes the accuracy and basis of the assessment, including the methodology used in conducting the audit.”
According to Bloomberg, the company alleged that the revenue agency used a third-party consultant and a new methodology in its calculations.
The Group stated that the Ghanaian agency began an audit of its business in the country in 2019 to examine the reliability and completeness of the revenue it declared during the period.
“MTN Group and MTN Ghana will continue to engage with the relevant authorities on this matter and MTN remains resolute that MTN Ghana is a tax-compliant corporate citizen,” MTN said.
Ghana under economic pressure
The Ghanaian government has been under intense pressure to keep its economy afloat amid dwindling economic fortunes.
In 2022, the West African country defaulted on its loans and suspended all debt servicing under certain classes of its external debt.
Ghana also reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $3 billion bailout plan to tackle its economic woes.
Ghana agreed to a comprehensive debt restructuring from IMF before the facility was granted.
Ghana cedi bounces back, becomes world’s best-performing currency
Recall that Legit.ng reported that the Ghanaian currency is on track to recovery after posting an impressive result against the US dollar five days in a row.
The result comes amid Ghana’s plan to reorganise its local debts.
According to Bloomberg, the rise in the currency value comes alongside hopes of realising a $3 billion bailout the country requested from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for months now.
Source: Legit.ng
