Member of Parliament for Effutu constituency and Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has discounted claims that the introduction of the E-Levy will increase hardship in the country.
He described the levy as “strategic” move by government to mobilize more resources for developmental projects instead of claims by some that the levy will drive people from the digitization space.
“Nobody should think that government will drive people away from this digitisation space. The 1.75% will not drive people away, because a lot of people are finding space in that digitalisation economy and that is the only space that government can make it to have the people,” the Effutu MP said.
He argued that although COVID-19 has affected a lot of businesses, it has also introduced a new opportunity in the digitisation space, so a “lot of businesses are happening through the interne”.
He added: “If you see suddenly that sector is growing big and others are shrinking, would you go to the area that is shrinking, no, you only tax where there is expansion [and] that is basic.”
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has vowed to resist the government’s decision to impose a 1.75 percent levy on all electronic transactions.
The 1.75 percent levy will be imposed on transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments, and inward remittances.
Speaking to the press after the Minister’s budget presentation in Parliament on Wednesday November 17, 2021, the Minority spokesperson on Finance Cassel Ato Forson said the new levy will “only increase hardship and compromise inward remittance.”
He said the Minority will thus “stand by Ghanaians in opposing the momo tax.”
The levy will be waived for transactions that amount to GHS 100 or less in a day, or approximately GHS 3,000 per month.
The government says portions of revenue collected from the levy will be used to support entrepreneurship, youth employment, cybersecurity, digital, and road infrastructure among others.
It is the expectation of the government that the implementation of the new policy will come into force effective January 1, 2022, if the appropriation is passed.
