E-levy: Government advised to consider taxing digital commerce instead
Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof Charles Ackah, has advised government to consider a tax on digital commerce instead of the e-levy.
Prof Charles argues that there are many businesses on digital channels that are not paying the right taxes as compared to the ones payed by other enterprises.
His comment comes on the back of the ongoing debate on the controversial e-levy, which is faced with some oppositions from a cross section of the public.
He also believes that the e-levy is not a fair tax.
“Government needs to trap them and let them pay tax, so instead of saying e-levy or which is now like momo levy, we should say e-commerce tax, which is the tax on electronic commerce and those people who are doing the commerce, they are not registered and some of them are not even paying taxes.
“I think that’s what we need to do. So its more about expanding the tax base, its more about also stopping the loopholes, it is more about also government controlling and streamlining their expenditure and I think I gave a lot of examples. So its only in this country for example, that you can almost park for free in almost all the municipalities, it doesn’t happen in any country. In this country people drive with impunity and they go scot free, these are aII ways of raising revenue,” he said.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Builsa South in the Upper East Region, Dr Clement Apaak, has questioned the Finance Minister’s surprise to the opposition of the E-Levy by graduates of the free Senior High School programme.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is reported to have expressed shock at the rejection of the E-Levy proposal by some youth of the country including some free SHS beneficiaries while speaking at government’s 3rd town hall meeting in Tamale.
The Minister is said to have asked if the free SHS graduates knew what the cost of rejecting the E-Levy was given that the government needs resources to fund the free SHS programme and other initiatives.
“If I look at E-levy for instance, and I say that this year we intend to collect 7billion cedis and I look at mobile money subscribers and there are over 21million of us.
“So assuming I divide this 7billion by 21million of us , it is about 300 cedis a year for each person, divide by 12.
Read: The Bizarre Controversy over Ghana’s “e-Passport”
“So when I see the energy especially with which graduates who have gone through free senior high are against E-levy, I ask whether the they are calculating what the cost is. And I ask in truthfulness that does any graduate make more than 8000 or 5000?
“Assuming you are a graduate and you even made 100,000 cedis a year and you transfer all of that through MoMo, how much will that be? 10 per cent of 100,000 is 10,000 , so a third of that is 3000. So 3000 cedis for your roads , for your free education , for all of that and you are up in arms,” he stated.
Touching on the subject, Dr Apaak questioned why the Finance Minister was shocked at the rejection of the E-Levy by free SHS graduates asserting that their opposition to the proposed levy is because government has not been accountable to Ghanaians and that the E-Levy is an extortion tax.
Read below what Dr Apaak said in response to the Finance Minister:
Dear Ken Ofori-Atta,
Why are you shocked that fSHS graduates are opposed to your extortion scheme you have named E-Levy?
And why should they not reject E-Levy when they know you have refused to give a detailed account of what you have used the 7.62 billion you claim to have invested in fSHS from 2017 to 2021 for?
Why should they support E-Levy when this 7.62 billion is 2.4 billion more than what your own documents: 2020 Budget, 2020 Mid-Year Review Budget, 2021 Budget, and 2021 Mid-Year Budget Review prove?
Why did you report 7.62 billion (2017-2021) when a study of the above documents gives a cumulative total of 5.17 billion (2017-2021)?
What was the additional 2.4 billion used for in just one year? By the way Mr. Ofori-Atta, remember I asked you this question on the floor of Parliament last year, and you couldn’t answer, you promised to return with a detailed breakdown, I’m still waiting, Ghanaians are waiting?
The fSHS graduates like many Ghanaians know, your government is unaccountable and corrupt.
The fSHS graduates know the Killer E-Levy is an extortion scheme, unjustified, and will lead to financial exclusion.
The fSHS graduates know that your claims that if your thieving scheme is not passed hospitals won’t be built, roads won’t be constructed, schools won’t be constructed, fSHS will suffer etc is a bunch of lies.
So stop wasting time and resources holding fruitless town hall meetings, the masses don’t want E-Levy, they have made up their minds, they won’t support it.
NDC 137 NO vote against E-Levy stands, not negotiable.
