Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem, George Mireku Duker, has refuted assertions by the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, that the passage of the E-levy will impose hardship on the poor.
According to him, the bill has become necessary as a means of internally mobilizing revenue for development rather than borrowing high-interest rate loans.
Speaking on Peace FM’s morning show ‘Kokrokoo’ on March 30, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said, E-levy was not a punishment as well as not a tax for the poor as the NDC has been trumpeting.
He stated that the poor were not going to be affected by the tax, suggesting that they do not send more than GH₵100 – the threshold exempted from E-levy charges.
“The E-levy is not a punishment but rather a means to develop. I as MP have read the bill and come to understand that its implementation will not impose hardship on anyone.
“If you go to my hometown Dompem, where it has rained and removed the roofs of some houses, how many people do transact Momo transfers if you talk about abject poverty. Where will they get to do the MoMo even in Ajumako Essiam?
“The E-levy is not a tax for the poor like the NDC wants us to believe. It is the rich who do MoMo transfers. Not necessarily all of them but I am talking about the majority of them.
“Before you send money to someone, it means you have gotten some money. Most of them are well-to-do. Even if it’s the poor who is sending money, I don’t believe it is more than GH₵100 previously GH₵1,000 in the old currency.
“Where is the poor person going to get GH₵100 to send it to someone? If the poor person will send money, it is usually GH₵20, GH₵50, and such persons are not affected by the E-levy,” Mr. Mireku Duker emphasized in a Twi-based interview.
Parliament on March 29 passed the E-levy bill amidst the Minority MPs staging a walkout.
The Minority later in a press conference addressed by its leader, Haruna Iddrisu, justified the walkout stating that it did not want to give the Majority a quorum for decision making.
Haruna Iddrisu, together with two other MPs, have, therefore, filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the passage of the E-levy bill.
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