NDC E-Levy versus NPP E-Levy: Sam George explains the difference

Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram Sam George has admitted that even though the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2020 polls proposed an E-Levy, it is was not going to take the same shape and form as the current one before parliament.

Reacting to news the NDC is playing the ostrich after planning to roll out the same tax plan, the lawmaker maintained that the current one before parliament generating a series of controversies is a killer.

He is of the view that the NDC’s was a friendly one and would not have burdened already suffering Ghanaians as the current one seeks to do.

Read his full post below

Let’s set the records straight!

I was privileged to work with some very fine brains and Seniors on the ICT subcommittee of the 2020 NDC manifesto team. I am very conversant with the text of the digital initiatives we sought to implement under the next NDC government.

WE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION OF INTRODUCING AN e-LEVY LIKE THE NPP HAS!

I have seen copious references made to paragraph 8.7(c) on page 99 of the 2020 People’s Manifesto and an attempt to suggest that what we described as “a uniform transaction fee policy to guide the electronic payments industry” was a dream to introduce something similar to the obnoxious e-Levy. Nothing could be further away from the truth.

Even as we speak today, there is no uniformity of transaction fees across various EMI platforms. Transacting the same value of money could attract a cost of 0% to as high as 1.5% depending on the platform being used for payment. It is this disparity across the electronics payments industry that we sought to implement.

A quick check with my notes and the attached memorandum to the main committee that contained our technical justifications for our policy proposals would show that we were actually disposed to a uniform 0% transaction fee across the various platforms for on-net transactions and a much lower rate for interconnect transactions.

It is lazy thinking, poor logic and crass incompetence for anyone with the slightest technical understanding to equate both policies. The obnoxious e-Levy is the baggage of the NPP and they should answer to the people of Ghana and stop looking for a witchcraft mate.

The truth remains one!

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