Minority’s stance on e-levy misplaced - Ken Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has stated that the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) stance on the controversial Electronic Transaction, E-Levy as misplaced.

According to the minister, the NDC Minority in Parliament rejected a proposed reduction of the e-levy from 1.75% to 1.5 after consultation.

Speaking at a second town hall meeting on e-levy in Takoradi in the Western Region, Mr. Ofori-Atta opined that the number of people paying tax for development in the country is woeful.

“So I think the NDC’s stance about not having e-levy may be misplaced … It is not because they are not patriotic, but when we do the numbers you will realise that clearly, we are at a point in our nation’s history that we need to do things differently.”

He added, “To be able to cross the issues that are confronting us such as youth unemployment, which affects all of us and really goes to the dignity of people who are home and the issue of our debt so that we can start mobilising our resources, but to be able to do that is to ensure that all of us contribute.”

“So the argument could be killed immediately if you say that ..we have only 2.4 million people contributing taxes for the whole nation.., now that can’t be right, you know that,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo has said his government is determined to find the means to address what he describes as revenue gaps in the budget.

He said the Covid-19 hit the country hard like any other economy worldwide, thereby leaving a gap in its wake.

He stressed that COVID-19 forced the government to undertake unplanned expenses.

“Revenues during 2020/21 went down considerably because of the slowing down of the economic activities that came from the Covid.

“At the same time, government, in order to keep the country going, had to incur additional expenditures – the free water, the free electricity and provision of free food -were the unavoidable expenses that government had to make.”

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