Botswana: Importers threaten to increase prices of goods if government implements tax to fund African Union

Importers have threatened to increase the prices of goods if the government implements the 0.2% import tax to fund the AU.
Mr Samson Awingobit Asaki, Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, told the Ghana News Agency that the implementation of the tax would increase the cost of operation for importers.

Mr Asaki added that at the same time as it happens like that, they would have no other choice than to transfer the cost onto the prices of goods for the consumers.

Presidents Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced cabinet’s approval of the 0.2 % import tax some days completed in a speech read on his behalf during the closing ceremony a five-day orientation workshop for newly appointed envoys.

According to President Akufo-Addo, the new tax which would be on all imports outside of the African Union (AU), was aimed at supporting the activities of the AU to ensure that it would not go begging from other nations.

But, the Importers who are not happy about the new tax as they described it as a “stab in the back” connotes that government was using other means to replace the taxes it scrapped early this year.

Mr Asaki added that giving importers one % tax reliefs and introducing a new tax would only create disaffection for them as consumers may blame them for not reducing prices of goods next the announcement of tax reliefs by government during the budget reading.
He explained that majority of Ghanaian importers import their goods from outside the AU therefore implementing this tax reduction would affect everybody.

He however stated that importers were not against the government supporting activities of the AU but government should look at getting the money from other sectors.