Former Finance Minister Seth Terkper has scoffed at claims by some members of government including the Finance Minister that the National Democratic Congress had plans to introduce an electronic transaction levy if they had won the 2020 election.
According to him, some government officials are confusing themselves with aspects of the NDC manifesto on taxation instead of seeking clarification. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta at the town hall meeting on the controversial E-levy in the Upper West region claimed the NDC had planned in their manifesto to introduce a similar policy.
Page 99 (c) of the NDC manifesto said the party will “Introduce a uniform transaction fee policy to guide the electronic payments industry” if they won power. Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Tuesday, Mr Terkper urged government officials to seek clarification from the NDC if they want to implement their policies.
“Unifying the policy is not the same as introducing a new tax handle. We should not be taxing sales, we should tax consumption and tax income. Transaction fee policy is different from transaction levy. What the NPP is seeking to do is charging a levy by merely doing a transaction,” he said.
He added: “If the NPP wants to implement NDC’s manifesto they must study it and do it properly. There are a good number of tax advisors in the NDC, they should consult us”.
Meanwhile, a Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare has said Ghanaians are not against the levy adding that the government would ensure that it is passed.
She said, “For me, what I hear Ghanaians say about the E-levy is that; yes, we want to embrace it, we want it, it is good. But we want to see more accountability in that field -that the monies that you raised, show us how much came in and then also tell us what you utilised the revenues that came in for. So it is more about transparency and accountability.”
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/103.5fm
