For Ghana to develop, every worker needs to pay tax – Palgrave Boakye-Danquah

The government is introducing a new e-levy

The e-levy will be 1.75% of all transactions

Palgrave says taxes will help develop the country

A government’s spokesperson on governance and security, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, has stated that there is the need for Ghanaians to embrace the idea of paying taxes if they hope to see the country grow and develop.

According to him, one of the surest ways for Ghana to develop is through taxation and all Ghanaian workers must begin to exhibit the habit of tax paying for development.

He made this known in an interview on Okyeame Radio, and monitored by GhanaWeb, on the back of the government’s introduction of an Electronic Transaction Levy, also known as the E-levy.

Reading the 2022 budget in parliament last week, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, stated that the government will charge an applicable rate of 1.75% on all electronic transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments and inward remittances.

This tax, he added, will be borne by the sender except for inward remittances which will be borne by the recipient but this has sparked a lot of controversies in the country with majority of Ghanaians opposing to this new tax.

“Other countries have attained development through taxation and Ghanaians have to do same in order to develop Ghana and also improve the standard of living of Ghanaians. This E-levy will help get equal distribution and it is in the best interest of Ghanaians as it will get us to have the Ghana we have been dreaming of where everyone including the ordinary Ghanaian is comfortable,” Palgrave said.

Palgrave Boakye-Danquah added that the government has been able to achieve a few good things that go to prove the direction of the government in this regard.

“… the 38,000 nurses who were given tax exemptions during the emergence of coronavirus, summing up to GH₵36.8 million, the afforestation program also employed 44,682 people, and 80,538 Ghanaians are YEA beneficiaries not excluding NABCO which has also retained 100,000 trainees. GH₵2.8 million was used in preparation of meals for 470,000 Ghanaians.

“Looking at the current world economy, government has to borrow for developmental projects as coronavirus had a negative impact on the country especially on the Ghanaian economy. The introduction of the new taxes is to ensure that every working Ghanaian contributes his or her quota to the development of the country be it a petty trader, an office worker, a national service personnel, a doctor etc. Once you are a worker you must pay taxes to help the country develop for the betterment of every citizen,” he said.

He stated that digitalization is also a drive to change and it will help change the Ghanaian economy for the better hence the electronic levy.

This, he added, will also help Ghanaians demand developmental projects in their communities, regions, to move from taxation to production.