Ghanaians are paying as high as 40.0% in taxes and levies at the pump according to National Petroleum Authority (NPA) pricing formula.

These are made up of ex-refinery, margins, levies and taxes.

Ex-refinery is the cost of the crude oil plus the cost of refining, transportation and distribution. To better understand Ex-refinery cost refer to my article “Why you pay what you pay at the pump” on myjoyonline files.

The margins are the profit margins for the OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) who market and sell the petroleum products.

Taxes are for example VAT and others totaling to about 18.0% of what you pay at the pump.

The levies account for about 22 percent.

In my opinion levies are another form of taxes to generate revenue for the government.

As a result, Ghanaians are charged as high as 40.0% in taxes and levies on fuel. We are arguably one of the countries in the world that pays more in fuel taxes. Yet Ghana produces crude oil and natural gas.

This is really price gouging by the government at the pumps.

If politicians are very serious to help Ghanaians with their economic hardships this must be addressed. Many nations have removed fuel taxes and are also debating on adjusting carbon taxes in order to alleviate some of the economic challenges facing their citizens.

This is the breakdown of how much you pay on the 10 levies at the petrol station. As posted by NPA effective July 16th, 2024.

Fuel/GHp/Litre

Energy debt.               49

Energy fund                 1

Price stabilization.      14

Sanitation.                   10

Special petroleum      46

Energy sector             20

Road fund                   48

Fuel marking.              9

Bost                              12

Distribution                  26

Total                              235

With this Ghanaians must now understand fully why they pay what they pay at the pump. And demand a break from politicians for the high cost of living and the economic crisis due to the high fuel and food prices.