The Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) manifesto sub-committee on the economy, Dr. Assibey Yeboah, has absolved Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of blame for the passage of tax policies such as the Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy) and betting tax, which stirred controversy after their introduction.
Dr. Bawumia, as head of the Economic Management Team, has been held accountable by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for worsening the plight of Ghanaians through the introduction of these taxes, despite the NPP government’s earlier assurance of a shift from taxation to production.
In an interview with the media, Dr. Assibey Yeboah affirmed that although Dr. Bawumia is part of the incumbent government and supports its collective decisions, he had expressed reservations about the implementation of these two tax measures.
According to him, the Vice President’s position could not prevail since his role is to support the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, who has the sole mandate to assent to the bills passed into law. He reiterated that Dr. Bawumia’s intention to abolish these tax policies reflects his independent views on how to manage the country’s tax system.
“Dr. Bawumia has been part of the government. In this manifesto, he said he would abolish the e-levy, he said he would abolish the betting tax, he didn’t run the show so there are things in the manifesto that run contrary to what this government is doing. So if I have divergent views and I air them is it criticising the government? No,” he stated.
He further explained that members of the ruling party are not barred from sharing opposing views on matters that have majority approval.
“I advised the government to approach the IMF early on, and it eventually did. I also predicted that the e-levy wouldn’t achieve its revenue targets, and we’ve seen it fail. I am an economist, and a good one at that, so if I have strong views on a matter, I will speak up even if I’m part of the NPP. That’s how we build a nation.”
Watch video below:
"I said e-levy wasn't going to bring the targeted revenues, e-levy has failed woefully" – Dr Assibey Yeboah, Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Manifesto Sub-Committee on the Economy.#3NewsGH #BusinessFocus pic.twitter.com/41HPqTqGWW
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) September 18, 2024
E-levy
The Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075), imposing an electronic transfer levy of 1.5% on electronic transfers such as mobile money, bank application, FinTech platform was assented to by the president on 31 March 2022 and implemented on 1 May 2022.
Its implementation faced public backlash and government was compelled to reduce the rate to 1 percent effective November of the same year. Government raked in GHC1.19 billion from e-levy for the year 2023.
Betting tax
The Ghana Revenue Authority GRA announced the implementation a 10% withholding tax on all gross gaming winnings effective August 15, 2023.
In a recent statement, the National Lottery Authority Director (NLA), Sammy Awuku, revealed that the 10% tax on betting winnings, announced by the government, has not yet been enforced. Despite the mandate given to the NLA to collect this tax, operational challenges have delayed its implementation.
Meanwhile, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is keen on abolishing the e-levy and betting tax to facilitate his vision for a digital and cashless Ghana.