MTN Ghana claims to have paid the government GH₵3.1 billion of its 7.7 billion in income for 2021.
Corporate taxes, Value Added Tax (VAT) levies and charges, withholding taxes, communication service tax, national fiscal stabilization levy, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and payments to other government agencies were all included.
The company said: “During the year, MTN made a fiscal contribution of ₵3.1 billion of which ₵2.8 billion was paid to government in direct and indirect taxes, representing 35.8 percent of total revenue.”
This was said by Dr Ishmael Yamson, Chairman of the Board of the company, during their recently concluded fourth Annual General Meeting since becoming a publicly traded company.
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“Creating shared value and committed to being a strategic partner to Ghana’s development over the years, MTN has won various awards as the highest taxpayer in Ghana in recognition of its contribution to the fiscal development of the country,” he said.
He assured shareholders of ongoing effective governance through suitable training and maintaining the proper balance to support the business’s long-term prosperity.
Thereby: “Living our purpose – bringing hope to communities within which we operate,” Dr Yamson emphasised.
“As a responsible corporate institution, we are committed to remaining at the forefront of delivering sustainable development to communities, especially in this era of the pandemic,” he added.
Meanwhile, the business issued a dividend of 11.5 pesewas per share to its shareholders, a 43.8 percent increase over what it gave to shareholders in 2020 and more than 70% of its 2 billion profit for 2021.
MTN Ghana experienced substantial growth in service revenue (28.5 percent year on year) and cautious cost management in 2021, resulting in a 43.5 percent year on year increase in profit after tax to 2.0 billion.
Mrs Antoinette Kwofie, Chief Finance Officer of the company, stated that: “In 2021, the Group (Scancom PLC and Mobile Money Limited) delivered a total revenue and service revenue growth of 28.0 percent and 28.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) respectively to ₵7.7 billion.”
She added that: “This growth was underpinned by growth in data (up 56.3 per cent YoY), voice (up 4.9 per cent YoY), and Mobile Money (up 38.2 per cent YoY).”
She did, however, say that the company’s digital revenue was down 5.1% year on year owing to a cleaning up of the company’s digital goods and services to improve customer experience and rationalization of its digital product range.
During the fiscal year under review, the corporation contributed $14.3 million to CSR programs in education, health, entrepreneurship, and youth development.
For example, the MTN Foundation, the company’s CSR arm, gave $5 million (increasing its total donation to $10 million since 2020) to the National COVID-19 Trust Fund in support of the government’s efforts to combat the epidemic.
To help raise immunization rates in the country, the corporation contributed 356,000 vaccines to the Ghanaian government via the Ministry of Health.
The Foundation provided assistance to 465 students under the MTN Bright Scholarship Scheme, disbursing 2.3 million to cover tuition, housing, and a book stipend for recipients.
The firm said that 119 recipients had finished their programs and were now working, contributing to Ghana’s growth and development in their own small ways.
Furthermore, the Foundation built a blood bank unit for Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Cape Coast, a 600-bed girls’ dormitory complex for Tamale Senior High School in Tamale, and a 24-unit classroom block for Ghana Police School in Accra.
SOURCE: myjoyonline
