A National Democratic Congress (NDC) communicator has stated that the opposition is holding on to a statement by the Vice President on electronic transactions, particularly mobile money, to fight against E-levy.
According to Haruna Amaliba Kingsley, Dr Mahamudu Bawumi in an interview in 2020, abhorred the taxation of Mobile Money because he believed that most of its users are poor.
He noted that the NDC agreed with Bawumia's statement that the 1.75% levy will take a toll on Ghanaians.
“COVID-19 and the E-levy, should we pay it or not? Our position is that so long as we are concerned, we are standing by the argument of Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, His Excellency the Vice President. October 2020, two months to the elections, he came here [Peace FM] and was interviewed by Kwame Sefa Kayi. He said the Mobile money transaction is being done by the poor household so there’s no need to pay any form levy on it,” Amaliba said.
The NDC’s communication member’s comment comes on the back of recent controversies surrounding the E-levy after it was announced by the finance minister in his presentation of the 2022 budget to parliament last year.
The 1.75% rate for the levy according to Ken Ofori-Atta will cover all financial transactions above 100 cedis performed electronically, including inward remittances.
The announcement was received with several backlashes from stakeholders and the general public who are against the e-levy leading to a back and forth in parliament.
Members of the NDC have since questioned Dr. Bawumia’s “long silence” in the midst of the E-Levy debate.
Adding his voice to the calls for the Vice President to wade in the ongoing issue, Haruna Amaliba, in an interview on Peace FM said,
“So has Dr. Bawumia’s position changed? He should let us know if his position has changed. He should come and tell us as the chairman of the Economic Management Team, his position on the e-levy. We need to know so that going forward we’d know how to handle this argument.”
