Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister
E-Levy fails to meet target two months after implementation
Ghanaians call for the cancellation of the E-levy as government seeks IMF bailout
Scrap the E-Levy, Ebo Turkson advises
Economist Prof. Ebo Turkson has urged
Read full articleFinance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to suspend the Electronic Transfer Levy during the Mid-Year budget presentation.
The levy which was introduced in the 2022 budget to rake in taxes from the formal and informal sector to a tune of 6 billion cedis was reduced to 1.5 percent from 1.75 percent after incessant protests from the minority in Parliament and some Ghanaians.
With the government currently seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, many people have called on the government to scrap the E-Levy since it is not generating the project amount.
Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews, Professor Ebo Turkson, said the government should throw out the E-Levy during the Mid-Year budget to encourage more people to return to using the mobile money platforms.
“I don’t think the e-levy is something we should look at. I am expecting the Finance Minister to remove the e-levy in the Mid-Year Budget," he said.
The expert also said that it will be economically wise for the government to scrap the E-Levy so that more people would use the mobile transfer platforms and then generate its revenue from taxing the Telcos more.
“The telcos when they have a drop in the number of consumers has implications for their profitability. If the government is again going to tax their profits, it means that the government is going to make fewer taxes”.
Meanwhile, the government through the Finance Ministry has stated that it is not going to scrap the E-Levy despite the bailout from the IMF.
JEA/FNOQ
