The government has initiated action to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent from January next year. An Amendment Bill to give effect to the increase would be laid before Parliament on Wednesday and is expected to serve as a notice to the business community, a source at the Ministry of Finance told the GNA. The Source said the increase has become necessary as a result of the recent decline in the prices of key export commodities, cocoa and gold as well as the sharp rise in the price of crude oil which has brought considerable pressure on Ghana's balance of payment account.