E- levy not an egregious tax – Ofori-Atta tells critics

Govt is seeking to pass the E-levy

E-levy will impose a 1.75% on all Electronic Transactions

The Bill will be relaid before the MPs

Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister, has dismissed the idea that the Electronic Transaction Levy, E-levy, proposed by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led administration is the

Read full articlemost egregious tax ever passed in the country's history.

Speaking at the government’s town-hall meeting on Thursday, January 27, the minister noted, "E-levy is very necessary for the country at this critical time because when it is passed, the country will use its own resources for development and will drift away from borrowing from external sources.

The minister further dismissed the idea of Ghana going back to an IMF programme indicating that, it will restrict the country’s developmental process.

Ken Ofori-Atta explained, “This is not the most egregious tax that you could get, but it really leads to the issue of inclusion of all of us to build our society and wherever we really want to go to transform this land.

“And that has been the subject of this debate. The question is: do we want to build the new Jerusalem?" he quizzed.

Ofori-Atta continued: “People forget what happened when we were in the IMF programme. We couldn’t pay for nurses, teachers, we couldn’t hire any more. We can deal with them for them to give us advice, but we need not ever get into an IMF programme.

“… And if you don’t do this E-Levy, you’re just pushing yourself in a way that will potentially end up in such disaster.”

About the E-levy

On November 17, 2021, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced the introduction of a 1.75% tax on all electronic transactions during the 2022 budget presentation before parliament.

According to him, this new directive forms part of strategies to widen the country’s tax net.

He added that the 1.75% tax is also to enhance financial inclusion and protect the vulnerable in the country.

The E-levy since its announcement by the Finance Minister has received public backlash from some Ghanaians especially Members of Parliament from the Minority Caucus.

At a recent press conference, the Minister announced a number of modifications to the Bill and announced that the government continued to engage stakeholders on the bill ahead of resubmission before MPs.

View his Timepath below: