The Technical Advisor at the Office of the Vice-President, Akbar Yussif Rohullah Khomeini, has clarified that the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, is not merely promising to scrap the E-Levy for popularity.

Vice-President Bawumia has made it clear that he intends to abolish the electronic transactions tax, known as the E-Levy, if elected president of Ghana.

During his national address on Wednesday, February 7, Dr. Bawumia reiterated his stance against taxes on electronic transactions, affirming his commitment to abolishing the E-Levy if elected president.

“To accomplish this, there will be no taxes on digital payments under my administration. The e-levy will therefore be abolished,” Dr Bawumia announced.

In a subsequent interview with Accra-based Asaase Radio on Thursday, February 8, Rohullah Khomeini stated that Bawumia has consistently maintained that the E-Levy undermines financial inclusion efforts.

According to Khomeini, the promise to abolish the E-Levy is rooted in policy conviction rather than mere attempts to gain popularity.

“It is not for crowd-pleasing, these are ideas well thought through by the flagbearer of the NPP. There is that recognition that we have to confront the cost of living issue, which every Ghanaian is concerned about…”

“And so, he believes that if we are determined to formalise our economy and transition from an informal way of doing things into the digital space, we must not have a tax system that will discourage people from wanting to participate in the digital space,” he said.

The e-levy, which kicked in on Sunday, May 1, 2022, sees a 1.5% levy on e-transactions. It covers mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments, and inward remittances. There is an exemption for transactions up to GH¢100 per day.

The tax, according to the government, was part of its efforts to widen the tax net and generate revenue for development.

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