Sheldon argued that implementing additional taxes would drastically reduce the revenue of content creators and hamper the growth of the content creation industry.
Ghanaian YouTuber and content creator, Kwadwo Sheldon, has voiced his displeasure towards the government's proposal to tax Ghanaians earning foreign income.
The Ghana Revenue Agency (GRA) revealed last year that it would tax foreign-income earners, including bloggers, social media influencers, and YouTubers, who are generating revenue on social media platforms such as YouTube, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Snapchat.
Speaking in an interview with BBC's Daniel Dadzie, Sheldon said that such taxation would affect the content creation industry, which is still expanding.
- Advertisement -"For me, it is unfavourable to us...We are building, it's not buoyant yet. So if you keep taxing us, how much are we going to earn at the end of the day?" he quizzed.
According to him, Ghanaian content creators do not earn much due to the taxes and deductions made by the platforms they utilize even before their final income.
"When you go to Social Blade, you see the average earnings of every creator. Not every content creator you see getting views on Facebook is breaking bread or is breaking even," he stated.
- Advertisement -He cited the difficulties that he and other content creators face in monetizing their content as a result of the numerous taxes and deductions that reduce gross revenue generated by the YouTube platform.
"Now, even before the YouTube money comes in, they will take their own. The US government will take their own. At the end of the day, let's say you earn $1,000 a month, you will be walking home with $500," he added.
Sheldon argued that implementing additional taxes would drastically reduce the revenue of content creators and hamper the growth of the content creation industry.
Sheldon clarified that, while there is a common misconception that content creators do not pay taxes, they do so through alternative channels such as brand advertising.
In addition, he emphasized the significant taxes that have already been paid and the taxes that are incurred when working with brands and paying employees.
"We have people that we work with. When we pay them, they file their personal taxes and we make sure it is paid. When we make money from brands, they take a VAT, everything. So it's not like we are not paying. We are paying and you are introducing more. So at the end of the day, what you get is a paltry sum," he explained.
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He argued that allowing monetization would encourage content creators to produce more, which would ultimately benefit the government.
"It will motivate content creators to create so that when they create and make the money, you can come in for your bread. I am saying that we should be exempt from it; the creator economy is not buoyant enough," he said.
Sheldon stated that the governments of other countries collaborate with social media platforms to benefit content creators, whereas the Ghanaian government does nothing.
"When you go to Nigeria recently, their government liaised with the owners of Facebook to open up for their content creators to make money. Kenya, they did the same. What has our government done? Nothing. He said.
Bernard Kwadwo Amoafo, popularly known as Kwadwo Sheldon, is a YouTuber and content creator known for reacting to music videos and social media topics. In 2016, Sheldon began producing content while employed at OMG Media. He was the host of the daily comic entertainment news segment "Yawa of the Day," which focused on trending news.
Currently, he is the founder of Kwadwo Sheldon Studios, which has produced numerous shows. He was awarded the Silver Play button by YouTube for reaching 100,000 subscribers in 2021. He won the Best YouTuber/Vlogger award at the Ghana Entertainment Awards USA IN 2022.
