The failure of the Electronic
Transaction Levy (E-Levy) to generate expected revenues does not mean it is a
bad tax, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare
Otchere-Darko has said.
Mr
Otchere-Darko said the development rather means that citizens do not want
to pay taxes.
He tweeted: "If the e-levy is so far not bringing in the
estimated revenues, it does not mean it is a bad tax. It means Ghanaians simply
do not want to pay taxes".
In an earlier tweet, Mr Otchere-Darko disclosed that the E-Levy introduced by
the government to generate additional cash was generating only 10% of estimated
revenue.
He
posted: “After 5 months of stalemate and bashing, the e-levy, after
implementation, is delivering only 10% of estimated revenues; our revenues
remain very low as compared to the rest of the world; debt levels dangerously
high, cedi, like most currencies, struggling against the US dollar.”
On
the current state of the economy, Mr Otchere-Darko explained that Ghana’s
ability to service debts was decreasing, although the economy is growing faster
than most countries around the world.
“Our
economy is growing faster than most countries around the world. But, that alone
can’t save us as confidence in our ability to service our debts is lowering. We
can’t continue to use all the little revenues raised to pay our debts. Very
soon we may have to borrow to pay wages.”
“What
options are open to government? The question should rather be: what option, if
adopted, will re-inject investor confidence in our economy? Even if we find the
$3-5 billion required, will that help? E-levy which was to have given us some
600 million [cedis] by now has done less than 60 million [cedis],” he added.
About E-Levy
The
Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) started collecting the E-Levy on May 1, 2022.
It
was reduced from 1.75% to 1.5% following protests from various stakeholders.