E-Levy Deductions Take Off In May
The just-passed controversial Electronic Levy transaction bill which is awaiting President assent to become law will take off from May 2022.
This follows the assurance given by the Controller and Accountant General and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), who will be the revenue collectors for the new levy as indicated by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta.
The E-levy was passed by Parliament on Tuesday, March 29 after the third reading in the House.
The Minority staged a walkout during the second reading of the proposal.
They walked out after the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said the NDC MPs remain united in opposing the policy.
Contributing to the E-levy debate on the floor of the House on Tuesday, March 29, he described the policy proposal as punitive which will further increase the “the high cost of doing business in the country.”
“E-levy is the nuisance of nuisance tax,” he said, adding that “businesses are suffering under your watch. We are united that we will not support E-levy, we will not vote for E-levy.”
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said he is happy that the E-levy has finally been approved by Parliament.
Delivering the 2022 State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Wednesday, March 30, he said “Mr. Speaker, despite the protracted and sometimes acrimonious nature of proceedings, I am happy that the House has, finally, found it possible to pass the e-levy. I believe the levy is going to make a significant contribution to revenue mobilization and the management of the economy, and I want to thank Members of the House for making this possible.
According to him, “The road to recovery will be hard and long, Mr. Speaker, but we have started on a good footing by accepting that we are in a difficult place, and are taking the difficult decisions that will get us out.
He added that “If anyone ever had any doubts about the need to be self-reliant, the point has now been forcibly drilled home to us. The pursuit of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda is even more compelling now. I have no doubts whatsoever that we have it in us to build the Ghana of our dreams. I saw the spirit of togetherness and the willingness to help each other when COVID struck. We looked out for each other’’.
“I saw the sense of enterprise and innovation of the Ghanaian. I saw our manufacturers quickly adapt their plants to produce sanitizers and our tailors equally quickly displayed the innovation they had always been known for, by turning face masks into fashion items’’ President Akufo-Addo added.