Minority wants e-levy rate peak at 0.5%

The minority in Parliament has asked the government to seriously consider further reviewing the e-levy rate to 0.5 percent and a daily tax-free threshold of GH¢300 to win their support in passing the appropriation bill.

Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu said his caucus would push for that strongly in Parliament during the debate on the budget.

Government announced last Thursday that it was reducing the rate from 1.5 percent to one per cent, and remove the GH¢100 tax-free daily threshold. That means any amount transferred is taxable.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the post budget workshop in Ho, the Minority Leader said such a review would worsen the impact on the poor Ghanaian.

He thus urged the government to reconsider the newly proposed rate.

“We will subject it to a further critical and thorough discussions as a caucus but without going into the scenarios, as you look at your scenarios, consider for say of 0.5 per cent at a threshold of ¢300 as compared to what you have admitted of one per cent at zero threshold.“

Mr Iddrisu who is also the Member of Parliament for Tamale South added that his side was yet to take a decision on the proposed increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate by 2.5 percent.

He, however, cautioned that it may have terrible consequences on businesses.

However, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta said the measures had become important for domestic revenue mobilisation due to the closure of the international market to government.

According to him, these revenue measures were key to pulling the country’s economy from the brink of collapse.

The embattled minister thus rallied MPs to support the measures and pass them on time.

“It has become more urgent to mobilise some domestic revenue as our access to the international market has been largely closed and our debt levels increased”, Mr Ofori-Atta had said on Thursday, when he presented the 2023 budget statement in Parliament.

Source: myjoyonline