The prices of various beverages such as beer and various bottled drinks are set to go up following the decision by government to impose an ad valorum tax on the beverages instead of the Excise Tax that was in place.

By this arrangement, it is expected that the prices of the various beverages would go up, thus dissuading many people from patronizing beer and other drinks at a time when many Ghanaians are either celebrating Eid-al-Adha or Christmas!

So far, industry has started complaining, and yesterday, Mr. George Nketiah, an expert on tax at the PricewaterhouseCoopers, said that the decision may lead to falling revenue for industry as well as losses in taxes, with its attendant losses in jobs in public and private sectors! “There is the fear that the prices of these products are going to be significantly increased, and that would ultimately affect the revenue of these companies, and the taxes generated from these revenues,” Mr Nketiah told newsmen in Accra.