The Ghana Publishers Association has urged the government to reconsider the rapid imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on imported books, expressing the view that the country is not adequately prepared for its implementation.
While acknowledging the government’s commendable efforts to safeguard the local publishing industry, the association believes that the timing for imposing the tax on imported books is premature.
President of the Ghana Publishers Association, Mr. Asare Konadu Yamoah, commended the government’s commitment to supporting the local publishing sector during a media address on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
However, he emphasized that the industry is not yet ready for the immediate implementation of the VAT on imported books.
“We believe that the government’s efforts to support the local publishing industry is a laudable idea, as publishers, we do not want to fight against us, because we’re all in that industry and it will inure to our benefit if the industry is fully fledged and of course, we’re printing locally. But the situation is such that we’re not yet there”, he said.
The association highlighted that the local publishing industry lacks the capacity to print certain imported books with diverse content. Mr. Yamoah stressed that the country’s capability to handle the wide range of books through local printing is not currently realized.
Furthermore, the association questioned the government’s priority in imposing the tax, emphasizing the existence of scientific and technical books not published locally.
They urged a phased-in approach and called on the Minister of Finance to reconsider the imposition of VAT on imported books.