The Moderator of the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante is urging Ghanaians to be ready to make some sacrifices for development which include the paying of Electronic Transfer Levy, E-Levy.
Speaking on the sidelines of the maiden Moderators Academic Excellence Award and Founders’ Day Celebration at the Presbyterian Women’s College of Education in Aburi, Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante said the tax is nothing compared to what those in developed countries pay.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, I just returned from Europe. After visiting several cities, I realised our that E-Levy is nothing compared to the percentage of taxes they pay. I was discussing with my colleagues back in Europe that if Ghana will ever be as nice as those places, we would have to be willing to make some sacrifices. I have heard Ghanaians complain that they do not see the impact government makes with the taxes they already pay. Well, the taxes we currently pay is too little.”
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Rt. Rev. Prof. Yeboah Mante further challenged Ghanaians to treat the tax measure devoid of politics, explaining that the government has been given the benefit of the doubt, considering the country’s scarce resources.
He however advocated a change of government if the E-levy is not used appropriately.
“Most Ghanaians are not ready to pay taxes. They want everything to be done for them. They say they do not see what the little tax they pay is used for. The tax we pay is too small. I wish that Ghanaians will not play politics with E-levy. One thing I will say is that, let’s try and see how it goes. If we try it, and it is used to develop Ghana, that’s fine. But if the money is taken, and they don’t develop Ghana, we vote them out.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Finance, John Kumah said the government will from May 1 roll out the E-Levy.
John Kumah in a Facebook post said they will fully roll out the E-Levy.
"The government will, on 1st May 2022, fully rollout the E-Levy. Already, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has put in place the required infrastructure to seamlessly interface with that of the Telcos for the smooth rollout of the levy on Sunday 1st May 2022.
Contrary to some naysayers' expectations, the GRA, Ministry of Finance, and the Telcos have had fruitful deliberations over the levy's implementation these past weeks. The deliberations among the various stakeholders have helped address all potential implementation concerns. Indeed, the extensive deliberations climaxed on Wednesday 27th April 2022, when the final road map for implementation was agreed on."