E-Levy: Otchere-Darko Says Tax Not Delivering Expected Revenue Because Ghanaians Do Not Like Paying Taxes

• Gabby Otchere-Darko has said E-Levy was performing poorly because Ghanaians generally do not like paying taxes
• The leading NPP member had caused a stir when he revealed that the controversial tax was delivering only 10% of expected revenue
• On Monday, Mr Otchere-Darko said E-Levy had raked in only GHS60 million of the projected GHS600 million since its implementation in May

A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said the controversial E-Levy is not delivering on expected revenues because Ghanaians don’t like paying taxes.

Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has argued on Twitter that the E-Levy was not failing to give the country the projected revenue because it was a bad tax.

“If the e-levy is so far not bringing in the estimated revenues, it does not mean it is a bad tax. It means Ghanaians simply do not want to pay taxes,” the former Executive Director of the Danquah Institute tweeted on Monday, June 27, 2022.

Read also

E-Levy will be withdrawn if it’s not helping – Kwaku Kwarteng hints

E-Levy delivering only 10% of estimated revenues

On Monday, the politician and close confidante of President Nana Akufo-Addo stirred controversy when he revealed that the controversial tax had brought only GHS60 million of the projected GHS600 million since its implementation.

Many responded by blaming the government for turning a deaf ear to suggestions that the tax would damage the fintech industry.

Experts had predicted that many Ghanaians would change their behaviour to avoid paying the 1.5% tax imposed on mobile money and some electronic transactions.

However, it has emerged that 8 in 10 Ghanaians have changed the behaviour of their mobile money transactions so they do not have to be charged the 1.5%.

Majority of Ghanaians have reduced the volume of mobile money transactions

Read also

Thousands of Ghanaians to join Arise Ghana’s two days demonstration starting today

YEN.com.gh has reported in a previous story that a survey by think tank IMANI Centre for Policy and Education has found that 83% or 8 in 10 Ghanaians have reduced their volume of mobile money transactions since the implementation of the e-levy on May 1, 2022.

Many of them said they had reduced their transaction volume by 51% to 100%.

The study in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) also suggests that many Ghanaians are likely to stay away from mobile money transactions for a long time.

Source: YEN.com.gh