Popular YouTuber Kwadwo Sheldon voiced concerns about the government’s decision to tax content creators in Ghana.
Sheldon highlighted that taxing creators in the budding creative economy could stifle growth and deter innovation.
According to Sheldon, Ghanaian content creators face significant challenges in monetizing their content across various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others.
Despite the growing presence of social media platforms, Sheldon emphasized that only YouTube reliably generates income for creators, albeit not always at the expected levels.
During an interview with BBC’s Daniel Dadzie, Sheldon criticized the taxation system, stating, “Even before YouTube earnings arrive, deductions are made by the platform and the US government. If you earn $1,000, you might only take home $500.”
“We are building, it’s not buoyant yet. So if you keep taxing us, how much are we going to earn at the end of the day? Also, I am in a space and when you go to Social Blade, you see the average earnings of every creator. Not every content creator you see getting views on Facebook is breaking bread or is breaking even,” he explained.
Sheldon pointed out that creators already contribute indirectly to tax revenues through VAT and other levies on brand deals and collaborations.
He suggested that instead of burdening creators further, the government should focus on reducing expenditure.
Drawing comparisons with neighboring countries like Nigeria and Kenya, where governments have facilitated opportunities for content creators to earn more, Sheldon urged Ghanaian authorities to engage with social media platforms directly.
He argued that such collaborations would boost creators’ earnings, subsequently increasing tax revenues without overly burdening creators in their early stages of growth.
“When you go to Nigeria recently, their government talked with the owners of Facebook to open up for their content creators to make money. Kenya, they did the same. What has our government done?
“How much are you going to earn from the content creators that you want to tax that badly? How much? Tell me. Even the E-Levy that they introduced, they came to tell us that the money that they expected to make from, they didn’t make it,” Kwadwo Sheldon added.
The conversation arises in the context of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) recent decision to include influencers, bloggers, and content creators in its tax collection base, citing income tax laws that apply to all earners.
Sheldon’s advocacy underscores broader discussions about balancing taxation policies with fostering economic growth, particularly in emerging sectors like digital content creation.