E-Levy 'an act of pair-trawling' – Toobu

Wa West MP Peter Toobu has described the introduction of the 1.75 per cent Electronic Transactions Levy by the government in the 2022 budget statement as an act of pair trawling targeted at “sweeping everything from the sea.”

Mr Toobu said the e-levy tended to kill the digitalization drive being championed by Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia.

He maintained that this levy is a disservice to the country’s ambition of achieving a cash-lite economy.

Also, he said it would derail efforts by the police to fight armed robberies.

“The e-levy will make the activities of armed robberies boom, as many people will be keeping their money at home if the levy is operationalized,” the opposition MP explained, noting that people will now opt for carrying physical cash on them instead of keeping it in their digital wallets.

“The e-levy will not motivate people to use the various digital platforms being introduced by the telecommunication companies in the country,” he stressed.

“Already, Ghanaians are overtaxed, and a further introduction of indirect taxes such as the e-levy is like going fishing with a pair of trawlers”, he likened.

“The levy is a pair-trawling exercise targeted at catching everything in the sea,” he emphasized.

He stressed that the levy would not serve the interest of the ordinary Ghanaian hence the minority’s decision not to support it.