Drivers working on the platform of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Bolt in Ghana have decried a new tax which they say has been suddenly and forcefully imposed on them.
Called the ‘Digital Transport Tax’, the drivers claimed that the new tax which reportedly came into effect on April 1, was suddenly imposed on the drivers without them knowing about it. They also said the tax is putting more pressure on their ability to earn.
A screenshot of an Uber Ghana receipt seen by this reporter shows that Uber charges 1 cedi per trip. The drivers confirmed that the other app company, Bolt, extracts 2 cedis per trip.
“It’s true. They just brought it now. I don’t know where it’s coming from and now we are being forced to accept it. Bolt charges 2 cedis per trip. It’s crazy,” King, an app driver in Ghana, told me.
Another driver, James, explains that “the tax doesn’t affect the rider. It affects the driver because Uber fares are still the same so the 1ghc is being charged from the money the driver is earning.”
Some others wondered what the exact reason is for the digital transport tax. They insisted that if the app companies like Uber and Bolt are already paying taxes to the government, why then is the government taxing the drivers again?
Similar read: Drivers at arms: Cab-hailing drivers in Ghana talk about taxes, robberies and bearing weapons to survive
A product of regulation
Regulation, especially in new sectors of technology, isn’t bad. In Africa, however, regulation has become synonymous with extortion, taxation and revenue generation. However, the Digital Transport Tax doesn’t seem to be one such.
The tax is contained in a new guideline for ride-hailing operations in Ghana called the Digital Transport Services Guidelines. The guidelines were issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), an arm of Ghana’s Ministry of Transportation.
According to Section 4.4 of the guidelines: All Digital Transport Service Operators (Uber, Bolt and Yango) shall remit an agreed-upon per-trip fee to the DVLA for each completed trip on a monthly basis. The current per-trip fee is GHS 1.00 unless otherwise revised, and it shall be remitted no later than ten working days into the following month.
The guidelines also noted that the fee, which will be reviewed periodically, would cover a one-time driver licence verification (30 cedis), digital transport licensed vehicle permit that is renewable every year (33 cedis) and information search for digital transport system operators (22 cedis).
In essence, as long as the DVLA keeps getting its 1 cedi per trip tax, neither the drivers nor the ride-hailing companies would be obliged to pay for the above-mentioned services.
This, however, begs the question; if the benefits of this fee accrue to the drivers as well as the app companies, why are the drivers the only ones paying it?
Drivers blame their unions
Some Ghanaian drivers are blaming the latest tax on the bid by some driver’s unions to seek regulation for the industry. They said this bid has forced some of these unions to be affiliated with Ghana’s Trade Union Congress, thus mandating them to accept such taxation.
King, for instance, puts the blame squarely on the drivers and the drivers’ unions for wanting the government to regulate online driving.
“Government that cannot adequately regulate normal institutions, you want them to come and regulate online driving. This is what they (the unions) have brought to us. Now we are being forced to accept whatever the government gives us,” he says.
Using the analogy of a higher licence which the government tried to introduce two years ago and how drivers who were yet to be unionized and join the TUC at that time were able to reject it, he made a case for why seeking government regulation at this time means asking for more taxation.
“Then we were able to reject the licenses. But now we have joined TUC so we can never reject it again. Because now, Trade Union Congress is making the laws and however they make the laws, you the driver has to follow. That’s our doom for today. I blame our leaders. They didn’t think smart,” he said.
There has been a long-standing disagreement between union leaders and the drivers themselves over the regulation of the ride-hailing space in Ghana. While the drivers are strongly against regulation (and official unions), the unions believe regulation would help them in their struggles against giant app companies like Bolt, Uber and Yango.
There are reports that Ghana’s DVLA has directed e-hailing companies to halt the collection of the fees as it is trying to hold consultations with the Ministry of Transportation and other stakeholders to ensure that any introductions are done with stakeholders’ input.
A Bolt spokesperson confirmed this to the reporter saying:
We want to clarify that the implementation of this fee has ceased and there is an ongoing discussion with regulatory authorities. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and assure you that we will work closely with regulatory authorities for proper direction.
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