play videoReverend Tony Asamoah Boateng (Apae Live)
Reverend Tony Asamoah Boateng popularly known as Apae Live has waded into the conversation around the controversial Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy).
According to the founder and leader of Great Light Worship Center, the ruling New Patriotic Party after winning power on the back of a promise to be pro-poor in terms of policies have done a U-turn in deciding to
Read full articleimpose a 1.75% tax on all electronic transactions including Mobile Money.
“Most of the people who depend on the Mobile Money service are mostly the poor, some are those who don’t have jobs and others are those who don’t have a proper job so they can’t go to the bank with their little money.
“Even though we are hungry, we shouldn’t be forcing to eat with both of our hands. We already pay a lot of taxes and that is not enough for you the politicians who spend the chunk, and now you have to tax the small the poor have; you are the very people who claim to have come for the poor. So if you now want to tax the little money poor people have on their mobile money, I tend to disagree on that,” he told Oman Channel.
While noting his support for taxing towards national development, Reverend Tony Asamoah said government tax policies should not go overboard in burdening the poor.
“Even the Bible supports taxing. But when a tax policy has the potential to burden the poor or cause the destitute to remain poorer, I would say that it is not right,” he noted.
There has been fierce resistance from the opposition and some Ghanaians to the E-levy.
A recent attempt by government to have a bill on the policy brought to parliament under a certificate of emergency resulted in a free for all brawl in the Chamber of Parliament.
Reacting to the recent fight between the majority and minority side in parliament, Reverend Tony Asamoah Boateng described the fracas as a disgrace to the nation and a bad example for future generations.
