Government to collapse blogging in Ghana soon.
The Government of Ghana is set to collapse blogging in the country. It is gradually and retrogressively clamping down on the thriving industry, it may just go down on its knees soon.
You may at this point be wondering the reason for these allegations leveled against the Ghanaian government. Similarly, what could have been the rationale behind such a decision if the allegations were true? Well, let me come clearer on this then.
Ghana’s government is collapsing blogging with taxation, thus excessive and unwarranted taxes. It is no secret the government has already begun heavily taxing the industry.
The government, earlier this year imposed a 21% tax on Bloggers, Content Creators, Influencers, and businesses on all Meta platforms. Thus, a tax on all those using Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp platforms.
Furthermore, the 21% tax entailed a 15% Value Added Tax(VAT), 2.5% National Health Insurance Levy(NHIL), 2.5% Ghana Education Trust Fund(GETFund) and 1% Covid-19 Health Recovery Levy(COVID-19 HRL). Implementation of these taxes began on 1st August 2023 on all Meta advertising services.
This meant that bloggers were now required to pay an additional 21% on all advertisement placements on the social media platforms. I am of the view the tax is completely out of place because Meta platforms are not yet monetizable in Ghana. Thus, bloggers on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp cannot monetize their content or make money from it.
Therefore, the Ghana government’s engagement with Meta should have first of all been to help enable monetisation in Ghana before even considering the introduction of taxes. That is to say, if bloggers are not able to earn money on the platforms, then government should not tax them.
Nonetheless, I am not totally against the idea of taxing blogging in Ghana, what I am against is taxing it in a way that cripples the industry. Therefore, the government should have ensured or demanded monetization to be enabled for Ghanaians to rather tax the earnings of bloggers.
This would have been a sustainable and reasonable way of taxing bloggers other than taxing our ad expenditure as it is now. That is a much more sustainable approach because it ensures bloggers stay in business, unlike the current tax policy which would eventually collapse the industry.
If the government of Ghana was able to meet Meta and demand the collection of tax from bloggers, then they could have equally requested Meta to enable monetization in Ghana.
Moreover, the government also plans to impose even more taxes on bloggers. As though the 21% tax on Meta platforms was not enough, recently the Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA) announced they would be taxing bloggers, influencers, and MCs soon.
Though details of the new taxes to be imposed by the government through GRA have not been announced yet, it is said to be in the offing. So why are they imposing more and more taxes on the bloggers in Ghana?
Well, the answer is quite simple.
The government of Ghana wants to collapse the Ghanaian blogging industry. Do not ask me why.
What you should be asking is how to get the government to avert the perilous situation. Thus, demanding monetization from Meta just as they did in the case of taxation. This would not only cushion bloggers, but help sustain the industry currently employing numerous Ghanaian youths.
Meanwhile, the New Media Association of Ghana (NMAG) and the Ghana Bloggers Association can do a lot to bring these concerns to the attention of the government and seek redress. Ghana bloggers deserve better.
I rest my case.
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