The controversial introduction of an obnoxious Mobile Money (MoMo) tax has exposed the notorious double-talk of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the head of the Economic Management Team (EMT) who in 2020 stated categorically that MoMo should not be taxed.
Speaking in an interview with Accra-based PeaceFM in August last year, the vice president said it would be unconscionable to tax MoMo because most of those who use the service are poor people.
“I don’t think Mobile Money should be taxed because most of the people who use the service are poor people so if you put more taxes on it they will suffer.”
According to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, he does not think Mobile Money should be taxed beyond the corporate taxes the telcos already pay on their mobile money earning.
It is therefore unclear what went into the thinking of the EMT of the Akufo Addo administration to have introduced the widely condemned tax which threatens to erode confidence in the service and force users to adopt alternatives.
It appears the tax proposal was not well thought through because the members of the Akufo Addo administration appear to be divided on the tax as explained by Dr. Bawumia on one side and the Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu Ekuful on one side.
According to Mrs. Owusu Ekuful, anybody who can send GHC 100 via MoMo cannot be regarded as poor and thus must be slapped with the contentious MoMo tax. His opinion has drawn charged anger at her from the general public who know for real that GHC 100 does not symbolize wealth in Ghana.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, has described as heartless, the government’s taxation of mobile money transactions, calling it a mark of wickedness by Vice President Bawumia.
Commenting on the 2022 budget, Hon. Dafeamekpor, pointed out that the decision to tax MoMo is a clear indication of Bawumia’s wicked resolve to exact money from the already suffering Ghanaian poor.
“The NPP is saying poor people only do MoMo transactions up to Ghc100. A poor kid in Kpeve receiving & paying school fees of Ghc950 will pay the Bawumia tax. If I send Ghc300 to my Branch Chairman at Dzemeni to buy drugs, he’ll pay the Bawumia tax. Dr. Bawumia is truly heartless,” he tweeted.
On Wednesday, the Akufo-Addo government presented the 2022 budget announcing that it is putting a 1.75% levy on mobile money transactions so that anybody who transacts up to Ghc100 on MoMo, will pay the tax.
Already, there is a 1% levy on MoMo transactions so that every Ghc100 transaction attracts a levy of Ghc1. The additional levy means Ghanaians will now pay some Ghc2.75 for every Ghc100 transfer.
As the South Dayi MP notes, the people who transact up to the Ghc100 value the most are the already suffering poor.
Interestingly, while increasing charges on MoMo, the government is scraping road tolls. A scrape of road tolls benefits rich car owners.