Isaac Adongo, Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament Finance Committee
E-Levy Bill to be re-submitted before Parliament
E-Levy to affect livelihoods and businesses – Minority
Citizens oppose E-Levy Bill
Deputy Ranking Member on the Finance Committee in parliament, Isaac Adongo, has accused the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led government of running down Ghana’s economy.
According to the lawmaker, the administration despite receiving over US$14 billion worth of Eurobonds since 2018, meant to sustain the economy, is now faced with huge distress.
In a Facebook post sighted by GhanaWeb, the Bolgatanga Central MP further accused government of placing its hope on the passage of the Electronic Transaction Levy which it says will generate GH¢6.9 billion in revenue annually.
“A government that has downgraded Ghana into a failed sate with US$3 billion Eurobonds a year since 2018 (US$12 billion) and US$2 billion from IMF in the last two years now say E-Levy of less than US$1 billion is the solution to all our problems.” Isaac Adongo wrote on Facebook.
He further opined that the E-Levy which seeks to place a tax on all electronic transactions covering mobile money, bank transfers, inward remittances among others will not solve the dire economic difficulties the country is faced with.
Isaac Adongo in his post also took a dig at the Head of the Economic Management Team and Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for being responsible for the economic mess the country is facing.
“I’m praying for their economic wizkid (Dr. Bawumia) to recover from being dump to wave the magic wand” the MP wrote.
Meanwhile, the minority caucus in parliament has vowed to oppose the E-Levy Bill citing it will be detrimental to jobs, businesses and erode gains made towards digital and financial inclusion efforts.
In addition, a cross-section of the Ghanaian public have expressed their displeasure over the introduction of the E-Levy.
Despite this, government insists the E-Levy Bill is necessary to fill revenue gaps, create jobs and improve infrastructure.