Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta says government will find a way to win the cooperation of the Minority on the matter of the Electronic Transaction Levy, also known as E-Levy.
In an interview with JoyNews on the sidelines of the ongoing Volta Fair, he said Ghana cannot continue to do things the same way.
His comment comes in reaction to the Minority’s strong pose against the proposed E-Levy.
According to the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, the E-levy proposal will further marginalise the poor and defeat financial inclusion.
He added that the levy possesses all the elements of double taxation “and even the projection, 1.75% may as well work out to be 3.75%.”
“Mr Speaker, our concern is whether the e-levy itself is not and would not be a disincentive to the growth of a digital economy in our country; and we are convinced that the E-levy may be as well be a disincentive to investment and a disincentive to private sector development in our country.”
“We in the Minority may not and will not support government with the introduction of that particular E-levy. Therefore, we are unable to build a national consensus on that particular matter,” he revealed.
However, the Finance Minister says he is hopeful that by the time the debate on the 2022 Budget comes to an end in parliament, the Minority would have been convinced of the need to implement the E-Levy.
“In terms of everybody not liking taxes, always will be that, so we have maybe a month of discussions of parliament, but once the objective is clear, we’ll get to some efficiency.
“So it’s not an unfamiliar position with opposition, but I’m sure we all have the good sense of one language, the republic in hand, and we’ll get there as one people,” he said.
The 1.75% E-levy is to provide the government with the necessary wherewithal to support local entrepreneurs.
