Members of Parliament are expected to consider the introduction of the 1.75 per cent Electric Transfer Levy also known as E-levy.
This comes after the house could not work on the E-levy which is currently before the Finance Committee of the house.
The house on Friday, December 17, 2021, passed the Appropriations Bill after budget estimates for various Ministries, Departments and agencies were approved.
On November 17, 2021, the Finance Minister announced that a 1.75% levy will be placed on electronic transactions.
According to Ken Ofori-Atta, the levy will be known as the “Electronic Transaction Levy or E-Levy” and forms part of efforts to widen the country’s tax net and rope in the informal sector.
Delivering the 2022 budget statement before Parliament, the minister said “After considerable deliberations, government has decided to place a levy on all electronic transactions to widen the tax net and rope in the informal sector. This shall be known as the “Electronic Transaction Levy or E-Levy
“Electronic transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments and inward remittances will be charged at an applicable rate of 1.75%, which shall be borne by the sender except for inward remittances, which will be borne by the recipient,” he explained.
Ken Ofori-Atta however added that to enhance financial inclusion and protect the vulnerable, all transactions that add up to GH¢100 or less per day (which is approximately GH¢3,000 per month) will be exempted from this levy.
This announcement did not go down well with the people of Ghana and the minority.
After the budget was presented before the house, the minority vowed not to approve the budget for reasons that includes the suggestion that the introduction of the E-Levy will worsen the plight of Ghanaians.
They, however, demanded that the Finance Minister withdraws the E-levy from the 2022 budget statement.
But the Finance Minister insists that the E-levy cannot be abolished as it remains one of the efficient means by which government would be able to raise the needed revenue to support the economic development programmes for 2022.
