E-Levy is our only option to gain additional revenue, reduce borrowing – Ursula Owusu

Government embarks on sensitisation drive for E-Levy

E-Levy to impose 1.75% charge on all electronic transactions

Minority, Ghanaians oppose E-Levy

Minister of Communications and Digitilisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has justified the need for the introduction of the Electronic Transaction Levy.

According to her, the proposed E-Levy offers the only option for the country to generate additional revenue hence the need for the tax measure to be approved.

Speaking at the Town Hall meeting on Thursday, January 27, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said Ghana cannot continue to deepen on foreign assistance for national development.

“If the funds are not generated internally, we either have to go and beg for aid or borrow and we cannot continue to borrow to finance our development. Ghana is seeking to meet its agenda of a Ghana beyond aid and this requires all of us to support the e-levy and contribute our quota to national development,” Ursula Owusu Ekuful said.

“So long as we are dependent on donors, they will dictate the pace of our development, so we need to rely less on donors to be truly independent,” the minister pointed out.

She further advocated that the introduction of the E-Levy will not erode gains made towards financial inclusion and a cashless economy as suggested.

“I appeal to them [minority] to cooperate with government and work with us to pass this levy as well because ultimately, the result that we got from the Communication Services Tax, which clearly didn’t destroy the industry, will also be evident post-implementation of this levy as we all work collectively to enhance access to and use of digital platforms working with Ministry of Finance to ensure that digital financial services become the norm as we strive to become a cash-lite society,” she urged.

Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana has reiterated the need for the introduction of the E-Levy on numerous occasions since its announcement in the 2022 budget statement.

Although a decision to approve the E-Levy is yet to materialize in Parliament, the finance minister [Ken Ofori-Atta] has said revenue from the tax measure will go towards building more roads, creating jobs and opportunities for the youth and reducing the country’s dependence on debt assistance.

But the Minority in Parliament has vowed to kick against approving the E-Levy citing it will place more hardship on the ordinary citizen. Also, a cross-section of the public has bemoaned the introduction of the tax measure.

The E-levy is a new tax measure introduced by government in the 2022 Budget on basic transactions related to digital payments and electronic transactions aimed at widening the tax net and increasing revenue.

The measure, if approved, would place a charge of 1.75 percent on all electronic transactions that are more than GH¢100 daily (24 hours).

This will cover mobile money payments, ATM withdrawals, inward remittances among others.

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