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E-Levy is a bit of a big blow, tax foreigners doing businesses in Ghana instead- Kojo Antwi
Veteran Ghanaian singer, Kojo Antwi has bemoaned the introduction of an electronic transaction levy on Ghanians.
On 17th November 2021, the Minister for Finance announced during the presentation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government to the Parliament of Ghana, the introduction of an “Electronic Transaction Levy” or “E-Levy” of 1.75 percent on electronic transactions above GHs 100 (US$16) per day to take effect from 1st February 2022. The levy will be applied to mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments, and inward remittances.
Since the announcement was made, several Ghanaians have fought against its introduction as members of parliament continue to battle its implementation out in the house.
In a recent interview on Asaase Radio with Kent Mensah, the “Music Man” shared his thoughts on the proposition of the e-levy, stating that government should find other means of generating taxes.
According to him, there are so many other avenues for government to generate tax, and an introduction of electronic tax isn’t one of them.
“We pay a lot of taxes. I think the government must find ways of taxing a whole lot of different things. Do you know how many Togolese are here working on buildings? … you know we love building houses…we now have Nigerians here doing designs on buildings [but] we don’t tax them…” he said.
“ECOWAS protocols allow them to be here and work there’s nothing wrong with it but how do we tax them? Find a way to tax them because they charge huge amounts,” he suggested.
Kojo Antwi also stated that the timing for the introduction of the e-levy was not right, as Ghanaians are still struggling to recover from the hardships brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“E-Levy is a bit of a big blow to some of us. I say so because I have been following the debate that is going on and I think at this time with what we’ve gone through as a people with COVID … and right after that E-Levy? I think the time is not right,” he added.
