Kojo Poku, the Chief Executive Officer of event company Big Ideaz Consult, is unhappy with taxes charged on complimentary tickets by the Ghana Revenue Authority. 

According to him, free tickets to events should not attract any tax element because that is one of the ways the entertainment companies attract prospective business partners and sponsors. 

He made this statement on Joy FM's Showbiz A-Z hosted by Kwame Dadzie on Saturday, July 1, 2023. 

“I understand that gifts are supposed to be taxed but if you look at the whole scheme of things, the issue is that people do do understand our industry,” he noted. 

“It is a way of getting people interested in our events. Most of our complimentary tickets go to friends and families and potential sponsors. Because if a client has not seen a Night with the Stars before and you want them to come and see and potentially sponsor in the future, the only way is to let them come and experience the event. You cannot ask them to buy the ticket,” he added.

Kojo Poku also noted that some of these challenges are the reasons a lot of entertainment event companies are not able thrive in the industry. 

He, therefore, called on the powers that be, to find ways of exempting fledgling entertainment companies from taxes.

He said most of these young companies are struggle to find their feet, so must be given tax holiday until they mature. 

In response to his requests, Beatrice Nyawuto, the Principal Revenue Officer at the Debt Management Compliance and Enforcement unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), who was also a guest on the show, said the stakeholders of the creative industry would have to collectively present a petition to the Commissioner General of the GRA in this regard. 

Showbiz A-Z airs on Joy 99.7 FM every Saturday from 2pm to 6pm.

Watch the discussion on TAXATION IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY on Showbiz A-Z below: