Accept E levy to propel development”- Minister to Ghanaians      

               
The Bono Regional Minister Justina Owusu Banahene is calling on Ghanaians to accept the E levy to generate adequate revenue to fund developmental projects.

 According to her, the E-levy will help in generating more revenue to spur the country' socio-economic growth. 
 The Minister reiterated, “time has come for the citizenry to “burden share” in the country’s development with the government by paying that tax”.
 Madam Owusu-Banahene said the country could not continue borrowing and to depend on donors to undertake major infrastructure projects.  
She noted that “it is through taxation that the government can raise money to construct roads, provide educational and health infrastructure, pay public sector workers, and carry out other vital social services”. 
Some Ghanaians were against the levy claiming it does not serve the interest of the common people.
 Some economists asked for the proposal to be reversed, claiming that it will jeopardize the government's digitalization efforts and plans to introduce digital currency.
Tensions between lawmakers in Ghana over a proposed tax on electronic transactions led to a brawl on the floor of parliament on Monday, Dec 20, 2021
Videos of the incident show a rowdy session during a vote on the 1.75% fee on electronic transactions introduced by president Nana Akufo Addo’s government.
 The levy was set to take effect on Feb. 1 2022, but members of the opposition staged a walkout when it was proposed in November, and vowed to keep fighting it “because it will inflict hardship on the core poor of the Ghanaian people,” as Haruna Iddrisu, the minority leader, said.
Ghana has been one of Africa’s fastest-growing mobile-money markets for the last half-decade. The value of digital transactions grew from 78 billion cedis ($12.5 billion) in 2016 to over 500 billion cedis (about $81 billion) in 2020, according to finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta. This growth is an opportunity for the government to raise 6.9 billion cedis ($1.12 billion) and boost GDP by 16% in 2022.
The proposed levy, if passed, will affect mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments, and remittances into Ghana. The fee will be paid by those originating the transaction, except for inward remittances where the recipient pays. Users would have no option but to pay, considering mobile money’s widespread use in the country as a better alternative to cash.
But politicians in the minority were not going to let it slide. Hours before the scheduled vote yesterday, the finance committee’s ranking member, Ato Forson, somewhat foretold the scenes that eventually broke out. “I want to say that we in the Minority will take the fight to the plenary. We will fight for the ordinary Ghanaian and will ensure that the e-levy dies,” he said.