Killer e-Levy is 3.75%, Not 1.75%, Minority Leader Exposes Lying Ofori-Atta

Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has pointed out that the 1.75% that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is quoting as the rate for the unpopular electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) is a deceptive camouflage.

Beneath the tip of the e-levy iceberg is a 2% levy that already exists so that at the end of the day if Ofori-Atta’s e-levy passes, Ghanaians will be saddled with a whopping 3.75% rather than the advertised 1.75%

“…he says 1.75. I say without fear of contradiction that mobile money customers will end up paying 3.75%. MTN already has a regime of 1% so add 1.75% that gives you 2.75%. There is a back end 1% if you are doing a cash-out, that gives you 3.75%,” the Minority Leader told TV XYZ’s Eric Ahianyo.

The explanation is a further bolster to the Minority’s indication that it is going to reject the tax which the Akufo-Addo government says is an important lifeline for the economy.

The Minority’s position has since been affirmed by former President John Mahama who is still seen as the opposition NDC’s leader and its soon to be confirmed, presidential candidate.

According to Mr. Mahama, the NPP government is trying to impose the tax at a time it is living large, and that is a thing that the Minority is against in principle.

Hon. Haruna Iddrissu told TV XYZ that Ofori-Atta has also been very deceptive with his communication and arguments around the levy he wants to impose.

“Minister of Finance was deceptively economical with the truth with the Ghanaians people. He says he consulted the Ghanaian people and they want the tax. Then subject it to a referendum,” Haruna Iddrisu said in reference to claims by the Minister that he used the Christmas break to travel around some parts of the country and heard from Ghanaians who said they want the e-levy.

According to Hon. Iddrisu who is also MP for Tamale South, even more offensive is the claim by the Minister that the telcos have agreed to reduce their tax or their levy. “First of all, was there a tax? No. was there a levy? No so stop misleading the Ghanaian public,” He slammed the Minister.

“This (telcos) levy was only by MTN; Vodacash did not have any charges. So there was no uniformity, there was no universality and you say they have agreed to reduce by .25%. Do you have .25% of 0 (zero)?”

The Minority Leader also accused the Akufo-Addo government of hypocrisy given that the same government that says it is imposing the e-levy to raise revenue scraped other levies that the erstwhile Mahama government had imposed to similarly raise revenue, calling them nuisance tax.

“All the nuisance taxes they abolished was it to rake in revenue or it was meant for John Mahama’s pocket? What a contradiction. In the past taxes were imposed, levies were imposed; what was the essence, was it not to raise revenue?”

The Minority leader also reiterated questions about the constitutionality of the e-levy in the first place, pointing out that the levy is not to tax income or profit, but to tax capital and savings which is fundamentally wrong.

“Now, you see that one of their professors has raised issues about the constitutionality of the tax. Ask yourself, how come America has a robust electronic money system, why are they not taxing it? Why is the UK not taxing it? Ask Ken Ofori-Atta, what is he taxing? Is it an investment gain, is it an income gain, is it employment income (he is taxing transaction) and he is taxing savings and capital which is wrong, fundamentally. It offends a major principle of taxation,” the Minority leader pointed out the anomaly of the e-levy.