E-levy already approved by Parliament – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Kandey Alhassan January 23, 2022 0

In a unanimous decision, Parliament has already approved the 1.75% levy on all electronic transactions, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has said. Pulse.com.gh reported

He added that the House not only approved the E-levy, but also voted a motion to accept the budget enacted by Parliament, which contained the Appropriation Bill. 

The government set out GH241,933,000 for services as part of the policy implementation strategy. 

It is a difficulty for me when people are kicking against the e-levy when you know that in the adoption of the motion to approve the budget, we approved of that. So, it means that the first step has already been surmounted.

"The e-levy has been factored into the various estimates that we have approved for all the sectors. That is the second thing we did. The third step is when we encapsulated everything into the Appropriation Bill and passed the bill unanimously. What does it mean, you have approved of the E-levy," the Suame MP said when he addressed a capacity building workshop organised for the Majority Caucus in Parliament and some Ministers of State, on January 22, 2022.

"So when we have done all these three and turn around and say that you (Members of Parliament) are opposed to the Bill then perhaps you didn’t know what you were doing," he stated.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta proposed a new levy on all electronic transactions that would be paid by the government in 2022 to broaden the tax net and bring in the informal sector. 

If passed by Parliament, the planned E-levy will take effect on February 1, 2022.

The tax has elicited diverse reactions, with some Ghanaians railing against it, claiming that it will just add to their financial burden. 

The minority in parliament has also stated that it will oppose the proposal's ratification.