E-levy not dropped from Appropriations Bill – Finance Ministry

The Ministry of Finance has dismissed allegations that the GH¢241,933,000 allocation in the Appropriations Bill for the Electronic Transactions Levy services have been dropped.

It also denied claims that a private firm will be contracted to collect the levy on behalf of the government.

“The Ministry of Finance wish to state that these allegations are untrue,” it insisted in a statement issued on Monday, December 13.

It noted that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is the state-mandated agency to collect the levies.

“GRA will manage all discussions to ensure full deployment of their current platforms and resources for the collection of the E-Levy.”

The rumours were fuelled by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who alleged that a “deep-throat and unimpeachable” source within Cabinet disclosed to him that the e-levy has been removed from the final Appropriations Act.

The statement repeated Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta’s explanation in Parliament in earmarking GH¢241 million as the e-levy services fee.

“We wish to reiterate that the E-Transaction Levy remains one of the efficient means by which government would be able to raise the needed revenue to support the economic development programme for 2022.”