The Minority leader in Parliament, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, has called for government to reduce the rate of e-levy to 0.5% and raise the daily threshold to Ghc 300.
Speaking at the ongoing, two-day post-budget workshop in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital, Haruna Iddrisu said in his opening remarks that implementing these two measures would get the support of Ghanaians for the policy.
He also said the minority would strongly push for that position during the debate on the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government.
The Tamale South lawmaker explained that setting the e-levy at 1% will have a negative impact on individuals and businesses that rely on electronic money transfer services.He thus urged the government to reconsider the newly proposed rate.
“We will subject this new proposal to further critical and thorough discussions as a caucus, but without going into the scenarios, as you look at your scenarios, consider for say of 0.5% at a threshold of ¢300 as compared to what you have admitted of 1% at zero threshold,” he said.
Government announced last Thursday that it was reducing the rate from 1.5 percent to 1 percent and removing the 100 cedis tax-free daily threshold. That means any amount transferred is taxable.
Whilst the general public and relevant stakeholders have welcomed the move, there are calls for a further review of the policy to be brought down to 0.5%.
Concerning the Value Added Tax (VAT), which government has proposed to be increased by 2.5%, Iddrisu said the minority are yet to take up a position on that.
He, however, warned that the 2.5 percent increase in VAT may have terrible consequences on businesses.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com