Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Kwaku Kwarteng, has hinted that the government may soon be forced to scrap the controversial electronic transfer levy (E-Levy) if the levy’s poor revenue generation performance continues.
Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM, Mr. Kwarteng who is also MP for Obuasi re-echoed the disappointment of Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, the notorious cousin of President Akufo-Addo and de facto Prime Minister of the Akufo-Addo government about the poor revenue claw-in by the levy.
According to him, if things continue in the current trajectory, it will be in the government’s interest to cancel it.
“Let us have patience, the e-levy is a policy that went through a lot before we could pass it, let us take our time. If eventually, it turns out not to be a helpful policy, the government itself will withdraw,” he said.
It follows an earlier whine by Otchere Darko, notoriously called ‘Octopus’ for his ubiquity in major decisions in government even though he is not an appointee.
According to the Danquah Institute founder, the e-levy has been extremely disappointing since its controversial implementation started in April and that instead of some Ghc600million expected, it has managed to bring in only Ghc60million.
“What options are open to the government? The question should rather be: what option if adopted, will re-inject investor confidence in our economy? Even if we find the $3-5 billion required, will that help? E-levy which was to have given us some 600m by now has done less than 60m,” notorious Otchere-Darko the Octopus lamented on Twitter.
Even so, Mr. Kwaku Kwartenbg asks for patience saying it is still early days yet.
“There is a sense in which the implementation has not fully even began and I say that because the e-levy is supposed to be collected on an electronic platform so that if you’re paying a 100 cedis by your MoMo if you try to pay the next 100 through your bank account, the system would know that you have already exhausted your threshold. That platform has not come into effect yet.”