President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the implementation of the new Communication Service Tax (CST) for all mobile service subscribers is expected to take effect from September 2020.

This follows an earlier announcement in the increment of the CST in 2019 by the Finance Minister pegging the rate at 9 percent for all telcos to charge mobile services subscribers for talk time.

Subsequently, the rate has since been reduced to some 5 percent as the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta made a presentation to Parliament last week in the mid-year budget review.

“In the short term, we will reduce the CST from 9% to 5% to reduce the cost of communication services to the consumer as more and more people work remotely and utilize online services. We will count on the Telcos to match this reduction in the CST by reducing their tariffs. This is important for our youth, entrepreneurs, and the burgeoning FINTEC industry,” the Finance Minister earlier said.

Providing clarity on the implementation in an address to the nation on Sunday, July 26, President Akufo-Addo disclosed; "the Communication Service Tax has also been reduced from 9 percent to 5 percent, effective September 2020."

This, he believes, will mitigate the impact of the novel Coronavirus pandemic on citizens.