E-levy’s failure to meet its target confirms our position – Sam George
Legislator for Ningo Prampram, Sam George has stated that the inability of the Electronic Transfer Levy to meet its target vindicates the National Democratic Congress’ position that, the E-levy is not the remedy to Ghana’s current economic woes.
The legislator’s statement follows a worrying revelation by a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko that the tax measure since its implementation has generated only 10% of estimated revenue.
During an interview on Citi TV, the Ningo-Prampram MP said he is not at all surprised by the development.
“This needed no divine revelation, it was obvious to any critical and objective mind. The projections they were making were just untenable. The government said that in 7 months, that is from May to December, it was going to make GH¢4.2 billion of the E-Levy, meaning it was going to make about GH¢600 million every month, meaning it would make an average of GH¢20 million every day.”
“In May, they made GH¢1.8 million a day on average. If you implement a policy that delivers 9%, you have failed woefully,” he further made his point.
He said the government’s ‘abysmal performance’ continues to prove how incompetent it is.
“This government should have absolutely no business getting close to the management of the economy, given the abysmal performance of what was hailed as the solution to all of our problems.”
Samuel George also stressed the NDC’s decision to abolish the E-levy.
The government started the implementation of the levy on May 1, 2022, after its initial announcement in the 2022 budget
Due to pressure from the general public, the E-levy was reduced from 1.75% to 1.5% after it failed to be passed by Parliament with the Minority side offering a stiff opposition in solidarity with the masses who were against the proposed levy.
Though reduced, the reduction was still deemed insufficient by groups that were calling for the levy to be scrapped.
The government had hoped to rake in about GH¢7 billion from the collection of the 1.5% levy on mobile money and other electronic transactions, but the figure was revised downwards to about GH¢4 billion recently.
