Deputy Minister of Finance, John Ampontuah Kumah, has assured Ghanaians about steps being taken by government to address the initial challenges that have fraught the first day of the implementation of the E-levy.
The new 1.5% value tax that took effect on Sunday May 1, 2022, has been characterised with a number of challenges including the non application of some exemptions from the tax.
Some social media users have complained about the fact that transfers on the same or different networks or banks owned by the same user is attracting the tax although they are not meant to.
However, speaking on the challenges with some media practitioners in the Ashanti Region, Mr. Kumah who doubles as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ejisu said government has taken notice of the challenges and assured that the issues will be resolved.
According to him, “I’ve heard about some challenges [with the E-levy] and with every digital product that you introduce, there are bound to be challenges, but the important thing is that as a government we have built a robust system with all the stakeholders and all the challenges that are being talked about will be addressed in due course.
“I have heard about a few people complain about some of the exemptions that were supposed to apply but are not applying. These are things that will be worked on. But generally, it [E-levy] is working,” he added.
Mr. Kumah appealed to Ghanaians to be hopeful and positive about the possibility of the E-levy to boost the country’s developmental process.
He expressed joy about the roll out of the E-levy which is going to give the government another revenue stream for development.
“It is a good day for our country because we have managed to introduce a new tax mandate for our country. Let’s continue to hope for the best for this country and especially let’s believe that E-levy will come and play a key role in our national development process,” he noted.
Touching on supposed injunction by some members of the opposition political party, National Democratic Congress (NDC), he noted the government can’t be cited for contempt over the implementation of the E-levy due to processes filed at the Supreme Court by the opposition in parliament against the tax, saying that “There is no court order, so we have not breached anything. The fact that you have filed a motion in court does not mean you have an order of the court,” he said.
By Vincent Kubi