The Mobile Money (MoMo) Agents Association of Ghana has called on the government to consider a further reduction of the E-Levy to between 0.1 to 0.5%.
According to the association, the reduction will allow the government to meet its revenue target as many have evaded the use of Mobile Money to cash due to the high charges.
Speaking to Citi News, the General Secretary of the Association, Evans Otumfour said;
“Government must conduct research to find out why people are not patronizing MoMo. It is obvious that the rate is one of the major hindrances to government achieving its revenue. So government must reduce the rate so that a lot of people will not be impacted. There are over 17 million MoMo users, so if government pegs the rate at 0.1 or 0.5 percent, it will still meet its revenue target. If not, people will look for alternatives like the use of cash.”
On November 24, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced that government will remove the GH¢100 daily threshold on the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) and reduce the headline rate from 1.5 percent to 1 per cent.
During the presentation of the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic policy to parliament, he said; “We will review the E-Levy Act and, more specifically, reduce the headline rate from 1.5 per cent to 1 percent of the transaction value as well remove the daily threshold.”
The E-levy review, among other reforms and interventions, according to the Finance Minister, forms part of revenue measures aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and accelerating economic transformation.
The move, he also said, is in response to proposals the government has received for a review of the levy.
“Government has consistently indicated its intention to improve the revenue collection effort by leveraging technology to enhance tax administration, identify and register taxable persons, and strengthen tax compliance.”
“Government has received several proposals for a review of the Electronic Transfer Levy and is working closely with all stakeholders to evaluate the levy’s impact in order to decide on the following line of action – which will include a revision of the various exclusions.
“As a first step, however, the headline rate will be reduced to 1 per cent of the transaction value alongside the removal of the daily threshold,” he said.