The Member of Parliament for Tema Central, Yves Nii Noi Nortey says the surest way Ghana can wean itself from donors who give with their right and take it back tenfold with their left is to accept the controversial E-levy.
The Government has in the 2022 budget, tried to impose some sort of levy on the use of electronic transactions, but this has been vehemently opposed by a section of the populace, especially by the Minority in Parliament.
Speaking on Plan B FM ‘Nkosuo Nsem’ with Ohene Addo, the lawmaker said, taxes such as E-levy is important and must be encouraged.
“Ghanaians don’t pay taxes, only 8% out of a population 15million adults pay taxes. Yet we all expect the state to give us the services that we desire, better roads, better infrastructure, better schools among others, yet we are not prepared to pay. In Europe, they are paying at least 51% of their income as taxes. so when you see that they are developed, you can tell that they have paid for it” he explained
“There’s no country that can develop without its citizens contributing, and there are too many people in Ghana not contributing. So I think when we send money to each other to pay for services that are taxed, pretty soon we will figure a way not to pay income tax because that’s the way the world is going,” he added
The 1.75% tax on all digital financial transactions; E-levy, is one of the main proposals of the government in the 2022 budget presented to parliament by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The tax has since been met with mixed reactions, with Ghanaians kicking against it and stressing that it will only place an extra burden on their finances.
The minority in parliament has also announced that it will not support approval for the proposal.
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