The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta stated emphatically that all things being equal, Parliament will pass the E-Levy by the end of March 2022.
Addressing the public on the decisions taken by the government towards reviving the economy he said the levy which has been opposed by the Minority will be passed.
He was responding to questions by journalists after he had presented the decisions by the government in reviving the economy.
He accused the Minority of scaring investors away because they opposed the levy.
The Minister said the government did not anticipate the decision of the minority and so their decision not to support the levy threw its plans off-balance.
“[We didn’t expect] that parliament would approve government’s 2022 budget statement, appropriation, and its expenditure plans and then turn around to vote against one of the key revenue generation measures that were being introduced, the E-levy. The unyielding stance of the minority in parliament against the levy gravely affected investor confidence in our capacity to implement our programs and settle our debts, triggering the downgrading by credit agencies and now leaving the cedi vulnerable as we cannot access the international capital market,” he said.
The E-levy is a new tax measure introduced by the government in the 2022 Budget on basic transactions related to digital payments and electronic platform transactions.
A charge of 1.75% will apply to electronic transactions that are more than GH¢100 on a daily basis.
The approval of the e-levy by Parliament has been fraught with many challenges with the minority kicking against it.
They have maintained that the levy will burden Ghanaians.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
