MEMBERS OF THE LOWER House of the Liberian legislature took a recess hike to inflict more hardship on the Liberian people with their vote this week to for increment in tariffs on cellular calls.

Free Call Snub A Travesty of Shame

ON TUESDAY, legislators voted in favour of the passage of the proposed tax amendment act of 2016 which has been the subject of major controversy.

WE HAVE SAID HERE before and will gladly say again that any government which decides to impose taxes on its citizens as a remedy to solve the economic mess it has created does not mean well for those who stood in line to put them into office.

THIS WEEK’S DECISION by the House of Representatives based on a report from the Joint Committee on Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning and Judiciary is bound to cause hardship and make ordinary Liberians feel the pinch in ways very few anticipated.

THE ACT CALLS FOR taxes to be increased from 7% to 10% on tobacco, 35% on imported water and 2% for locally produced water and that taxes on residential buildings are increased from 0.083% to 0.25%.

IT ALSO WANTS every caller or phone consumer within Liberia to pay US$0.01 (1 U.S. cent) per minute on all calls, under a plan approved as a Special Amendment to the Liberia Revenue Code (LRC) as proposed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The imposition of excise of $0.01 per minute on phone calls was proposed by the President to support the 2016/2017 Fiscal Budget.

WE FIND THIS DISTURBING for several reasons. Such an approach where taxes are transferred to consumers and the private sector is bad for business.

SADLY, UNLIKE many draft legislations which tend to impact the economy, stakeholder consultations are usually held to solicit the input of the affected sectors. However, in the case of the amendments to the Revenue Code, no consultations were held and the proposed tax amendments have come as a total surprise to the business community which is already undergoing hardships. The move once again demonstrates the lack of government sensitivity to the plight of local businesses.

THE LAWMAKERS also voted that taxes be increased on land within city or town limits currently at 2% be increased to 3.5% and that goods and services taxes be increased from 10% and 5% to 15% on hotel services, gambling services and restaurant services including GST on alcoholic beverages.

EXCISE TAX ON ALCOHOLIC beverages was also increased from 35% to 45% for both locally produced and imported.

FURTHERMORE, alcoholic beverages imported should be placed at 45% while locally produced should be reduced to 25% in order to promote and protect local Liberian producer’s base on experts’ advice as it was done in the case of water, the act suggests.

THE IMPACT OF THE new taxes is likely to yield much in terms of return for the government as many subscribers are now using such apps as Whatsapp, Viber, and Facebook to make their international calls. With the increase in the cost of international calls, one can expect an increase in the use of such free apps which would surely negatively impact sales and revenue. But more importantly, it is illegal and preposterous to expect to collect taxes where there are no sales, thus no revenue or income.”

BOTH THE EXECUTIVE and legislative branches of government have done a disservice to the people of Liberia with this new wave taxes in the fashion of robbing the poor to satisfy the rich and corrupt.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT should be concern about now is enforcing and implementing a presidential mandate on wasteful travels and expenditures by senior government officials and not inflicting more harm than good on ordinary folks.

LIBERIA IS AT A CROSSROADS with inflation at an all-time high due to the depreciation of the Liberian dollar in the past months. As a result, the government led by the Executive and legislative branches appear to have run out of ideas on how to fix the economic mess it has created by imposing more tariffs on people on bread and butter issues affecting a cross-section of Liberia, mainly those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder.

TARGETING THE telecommunications sector in a bid to save the mess of an economy is not only wrong but a poor taste in leadership that must not be allowed to stand.

LIBERIANS MUST return the favour bestowed on them at the polls in 2017 by voting each and every member of the national legislature who have put their name behind this tragic and messy legislation.

HOW SOON do we forget that attack on bread and butter issue, rice in particular was a driving force responsible for the April 14, 1979 rice riots from which Liberia never recovered.

TODAY, OUR SO-CALLED government actors are at it again: Robbing the poor and needy to satisfy the thirst of a few wealthy and corrupt officials, lining up to fill the pockets to the detriment of the poor and needy.

WE HOPE that voters return the favor come 2017. You put them there, show them where it hurts, when it matters the most.

Monrovia – In the wake of proposal made by the Government of Liberia to increase tariff on telecommunications which could impact the three days calls package offered by GSM service providers in the country, a group under the banner “Association of Telecom Consumers” has petitioned the Legislature, requesting the body to reject the proposal.

Report by Henry Karmo – henrykarmo@frontpageafricaonline.com

In their petition, the group stressed that taxation on calls per minute would directly affect low income earners who are already struggling to cope with prevailing economic situation.

They claimed that such decision would make access to information and communication technology very expensive for low income earners.

The petitioners stated: “This will result in a double taxation for consumers who are already paying 15% GST on the sale cost of scratch cards.” 

The group claimed to be representing citizens from the 15 political subdivision of Liberia which includes marketers, telecom consumers, low income earners, doctors, and students.

Natelco requested the legislature to see reasons and declare the proposal counterproductive, because its adoption would affect the long term national digital strategy objectives set by the government of Liberia.

“Natelco is therefore requesting that you invite all service providers, the LTA, Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, cable consortium of Liberia and all other providing voice calls, data or other ICT related services to quickly address issues of internet connectivity, fiber optic cable  and the high cost of interconnectivity,” said the petitioners in a statement.

The National Association of Telecom Consumers is a Civil Society Organization serving as a watch-dog institution for consumers interest with the objective of seeking redress for consumers’ complaints, promote responsible and sustainable consumption among telecom-consumers, educate consumers on their rights and responsibilities, provide a channel for consumers’ opinion and representation and foster understanding among consumers.

The Act to amend the investment code of 2010 adding thereto terminologies to section 2 and the Liberia Tax Amendments Act of 2016, amending the Liberia revenue code amongst others is among more than 20 bills submitted to the Legislature for action this week.

The sudden recall of lawmakers back to Capitol Hill might be in the good interest of the government but certainly at the detriment of the citizens.

Some lawmakers support the views of the petitioners including a Lofa County Lawmaker.

“I have always said it will bring hardship on the ordinary Liberian. It is good to generate revenue, but there are other ways, and areas we could use to generate revenue. 

On the overall I am not in favor of it,” said Rep. Mariam Fofana of Lofa County.

FrontPageAfrica reported last month that the recall surfaced after the President convinced some members of the House to speedily reconsider the amendment of the Revenue Code.

Accordingly, upon reconvening session, some lawmakers considered instilling 10% of the taxable amount on alcoholic products and additional 5% surtax to telecommunications services.

This means, GSM companies and cell phone users would be taxed one cent per minute. Lawmakers would also be taking into consideration the reduction of salaries of civil servants.

Our source, which is in the inner circles of government, hinted that the government would not be able to function properly with the current state of the economy.

The President has been concerned about the US$46 million increment made in the 2016/2017 fiscal budget and the executive’s current incapacity as well as the imminent drastic budget shortfall