VISION FOR ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND ADVOCATING FOR HEALTH PROJECT ENGAGEMENT WITH GHANA REVENUE AUTHORITY ON HEALTH TAXES

 

Vision for Alternative Development and Advocating for Health Project Stakeholder Meeting on Health Taxes and Implementation of Excise Duty Amendment Act, 2023

Preface

VALD Ghana is an organization structured on supporting development at all levels of society by advocating policies on Tobacco, Alcohol and Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) for the general health being of the public. Today, it’s been estimated that, 804,900 Ghanaians aged 15 years and above are active smokers and in 2016, alcohol use disorders estimated, was at 4.1% (Boachie et al., 2022), creating an annual economic burden of GHC97 million (VALD, 2022).

The Vision for Alternative Development and Advocating for Health Project interacted with Ghana Revenue Authority and other stakeholders, to discuss the way forward the implementation and enforcement of the health taxes imposed particularly on products like Tobacco, Alcohol and Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) on the theme “National Stakeholders Meeting On Health Taxes And The Implementation On Excise Duty Amendment Act 2023.

 The aim of this meeting is to deal with the Non-Communicable Diseases escalating, by supporting the government in the implementation and evaluation of the policies on health taxes due to the millions of people dying globally every year. The event held on 15^th June, 2023, took place at Sunlodge  hotel.

 

Meeting Objectives

• To afford Ghanaians through the media a better understanding of health taxes in general and their benefits to health and the economy.
• To elaborate on the GRA’s plan for the implementation of the excise duty amendment act 2023.
• To discuss and identify the needs and opportunities available for stakeholders to support GRA in the implementation of the excise duty amendment act 2023.
• To instigate a well-coordinated multi-stakeholder action towards a successful implementation of the excise duty amendment act for better impact.
• To initiate conversation around the feasibility of earmarking revenue generated from health taxes for health financing. 

Welcome statements

The Executive Director for VALD Ghana, Mr. Labram Musah said, tobacco, alcohol and SSBs are part of the most dangerous products increasing the risk of Non-Communicable Diseases such as cancer, stroke, hepatitis, diabetes and many more, which is destroying the planet and the future of the children.

He alluded that, in order to create the awareness of what these products are causing, there is the need for farmers to be educated to channel the lands into planting more food crops since they lament of having no alternative. The government should intercede by protecting the public from manufacturers producing these products because, they have started upgrading the produce into creating electronic cigarette. Where it is now accepted by the youth worldwide, due to the flavour it contains like that of strawberry and an apple.

Ghana will not the be able to manage the high-rate consumption of these products forasmuch-as it has been recorded recently that young children in the United Kingdom now send such products to school and gradually causing Non-Communicable Diseases on their health.

Similarly, in order to create the awareness about the negative impacts of the intake of these products, strategies should be developed by the public to help fight the consumption of these products through the media by generating evidence of images on the cigarette packs of how one has deformed into after taking tobacco and the other products causing harm to the health being of the individual.

Again, he persisted that, there should be best practices of behaviour across the globe. In the sense that, our celebrities are not helping matters at all, since some of the youth emulate from them through the social media channels.

Statement from partners:

The Advocating for Health Project led by Prof. Laar said, the meeting is to explore and support the government to find more ways to save more lives for less money. In doing so, helps to eliminate NCDs sufferers. This is because, NCDs kill not only in Ghana but globally. Where it has been recorded that, more than 41million representing 74% people lost their lives.

Likewise, the creation of the health taxes will help deal with the high-rate of Non-Communicable Diseases, leading to the reduction of death rate of about 70%. Already, 30% of the consumers including children age (6) six months to (3) three years taking sugar sweetened beverages has been reduced.

The Ministry of Finance added that, the Excise duty Amendment Act 2023 is made to expand the scope of tax rate on locally manufactured and imported goods like the Tobacco consideration and the Sugar Sweetened Beverages. Since they are becoming pervasive. Until recently, there was no Excise duty Amendment on electronic cigarette and other smoking devices.

Overview of Health taxes and Strategies for a Multi-stakeholder Implementation of the Excise Duty Amendment Act 2023

Mr. Nelson Bright Atsu, the Chief Revenue Officer of GRA explained in detail how the health taxes created will operate on the products and how it would be implemented in various ways. The main objective of the excise duty amendment act 2023 is to raise GHC455M this year, to also mitigate the harmful effects of these particular products say; tobacco, alcohol and sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs).

With that been mentioned, the tobacco products like cigarettes, cigars, whose old rate was 175 per centum of ex-factory price will now have its new rate to be 50 per centum of the ex-factory price and a specific duty of 28pesewas per stick. Whilst, 50 per centum of the ex-factory price and a specific duty of 50 pesewas per milliliters on the electronic cigarette.

Comparably, the alcohol products like the ‘akpeteshie’ whose old rate was 17.5 per centum of the ex-factory price will now have its new rate as 20 per centum of the ex-factory price. Whereas, the SSBs that is the non-alcoholic beverages, which had NIL rate, will now have 20 per centum of the ex-factory price.

The implementation strategies to make this tax effective includes; the training of officers with devices used in different levels to monitor and check the authenticity of products been imported, affixing special tax stamps to affected products, sensitization of stakeholders and many more.

Moreover, the enforcement of this policy will be applied by dint of cooperating with agencies like the Ghana Armed Forces, the Police Service, Food and Drugs Authority, National Security, and the Civil Society to even make sure that, each stick of the cigarette is duly sold at 28pesewas.  

The Role of Ghana Standard Authority In the Licensing of Devices and Standard Settings

The Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) is the National Statutory Body responsible for the management of the nation’s quality infrastructure embracing three pillars. That is, Metrology, Standardization and Conformity Assessment.

 In performing their role of licensing of devices frame work, there is the need for application processing, the need for testing and certification, to ensure that compliance with standards, protect consumers and promotes fair trade.

With the standard setting, they make sure there is certification by GSA to enhance product quality, safety and market competitiveness, in contributing to the overall economic growth of Ghana.

 

 The Breakout Sessions

The breakout sessions basically, was on the part of participants breaking into three Groups to discuss on topics given.  Each group assigned tasks is as follows:

a) Strategy of effectiveness of multi-stakeholder implementations of the excise duty amendment act 2023,

b) Strategies for earmarking revenue for health financing,

c) Strategies for evaluating the policies.

Presentations and Plenary

Strategies of effective multi-stakeholder implementations of the Excise Duty Amendment Act 2023 (Group One

Mass sensitization - In other words, all inclusive efforts. This means, in implementing the health tax, various languages should be adopted to make people from the grass roots to understand what the Excise duty on these products are about, and why they should stop patronizing them, by making them understand the health hazards that comes with it.

Management of misconception – The management of misconception among parents, mount to this strategy of effective implementation on the excise duty. Where it is said, parents have this understanding that, giving Sugar Sweetened Beverages like fruit juice, toffees and others to their kids will make them happy and devoid the habits of disturbances like cry from them.

Implementation partners - Additionally, the implementation exercise will be effective if stakeholders should also partner with Trade Unions, retailers, traditional leaders and the religious leaders using their platforms to educate and advise the consumers on how they should stop taking these harmful products for the better well-being of themselves. The public should also help with their phones in policing the harmful products to authorities.

Hence creating a reduction in consumption of the harmful products and saving more lives.

Strategies for earmarking revenue for health financing (Group Two)

Aside that, group two tackled on the topic the strategies for earmarking taxes revenue for health financing. In which the group rapporteur gave the strategies as follows:

Generating evidence – Generating evidence for earmarking should be justified. In a sense that, the evidence should be convincing enough of why resources should be earmarked for a particular health financing. This is because, the use of resources need effectiveness, so there should be good investment case for it to be earmarked to achieve the expected health outcome.

Allocation arrangement - Again, allocation arrangement should be considered in earmarking because, in some countries, the money does not directly go straight to the organization wanting it. But, has to pass through other agencies before reaching its holder. That is to say, the money earmarked for must go to meet its purpose since assessment is been considered.

Investigated evidence - Stakeholders should as well make sure the evidence they produce are necessarily researched to fight that argument of eradicating the use of the health-harming commodity; by way of making the context or condition on ground understandable to prevent revenue from devaluing. Since it means, consumers will stop purchasing the products and the retailers switching produce to a more profitable one.

Political economy – This strategy guides as well, since it focuses on production and trade, getting the community on your side of this argument will assist in earmarking revenue for health financing. In the view that, the awareness and understanding created in them does the trick. Considering the fact that, the champions instituted within the public institutions will also support due to the frequent talking about it and the public wanting to hear from such institutions.

 Thereby, the earmarking revenue generated from the health taxes helps stakeholders in financing health.

 

Strategies of evaluating the policies (Group three)

Apart from this, group three tackled the topic; strategies of evaluating the policies. Which includes:

Partial Policy - This is based on the grounds that, the principles of actions strategy should not be one-sided but should include the media, CSOs, academia and others to achieve the expected results.

Focus on ambitions - Also, there should be focused on future plans in assessing the policies. Meaning, in five years time, there should be an improvement as to whether the expected goal has been carried off in the reduction of death rate caused by Non- Communicable Diseases.

Context analysis and review – This simply depicts looking for interesting relationships like the media in the policy evaluation. Where it is paramount for one to know how the media is spreading it and how the government agencies are talking about it.

Policy Effectiveness studies – This implies that, one should observed the degree to which the sales and prices of the products are going in the course of time; either it is depreciating or appreciating and knowing the desired result of the health outcome as well.

Contributions from VALD Ghana and Advocating for Health Project in Supporting GRA Implementation Strategy

·     Prevention of the produce - VALD Ghana joining hands with the government in helping to prevent the industries who in a long decade, has always been deceiving the public to rather purchase the harmful products and that, it has less harm effect on their health.

·     Initiation of policies – VALD Ghana urge the government to earmark a percentage of the taxes to be derived from the Excise tax to help for health and development issues.

·     Legislation of bill – The government must also legislate bills to prevent or disallow the production of the electronic cigarette which is becoming rampant on the market.

·     Benchmarking the current tax to inflation – The excise duty must be updated regularly to account for inflation just so that the harmful product does not overflow on the market.

Whilst the Advocating for Health Project attach the following contributions as:

·      A comprehensive policy implementation and policy evaluation plans that all stakeholders are familiar with, will help support and solve all the public health problems.

·   A comprehensive policy action will also make it more impactful, if it is bundled with other policies to help solve the health issues.                                                         

·  The issuing of tax wavers or tax subsides on food. Which includes; public food procurement and service policy, front and back labeling policy, restriction of marketing unhealthy food policy and food related policy.

In essence, the policy bundling is made evident that “If We Have To Win This War, We Must Also Win The Battles In Our Kitchens” said Prof. Laar. 

Way Forward

The course of action from Mr. Labram Musah on these health taxes, is to organize regular meetings, and continue to create general awareness campaigns for people to stop consumption of the unhealthy products and entrain proper analysis on regular basis to assess the improvement so far.  

 

Closing Remarks

The GRA summed up by saying they are revenue institution and connected to taxes. So, their exercise is about educating the public and putting policy in place to ensure that taxes are well implemented.

 Finally, Mr. Labram Musah commended the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance for evoking this tax to control the intake of these products. Namely; tobacco, alcohol and sugar sweetened beverages will ultimately not help our country Ghana but the world at large.