President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said he is happy that the E-levy has finally been approved by Parliament.
The controversial E-Levy was passed by a one-sided parliament after Minority members boycotted proceedings and staged a walkout.
The minority walked out when the bill was at the Consideration stage.
The Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu who spoke before his side moved out maintained their opposition to the bill.
But Prez Akufo-Addo in the 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA) he delivered in Parliament on Wednesday March 30 said “despite the protracted and sometimes acrimonious nature of proceedings, I am happy that the House has, finally, found it possible to pass the e-levy. I believe the levy is going to make a significant contribution to revenue mobilisation and the management of the economy, and I want to thank Members of the House for making this possible.
The road to recovery will be hard and long, Mr. Speaker, but we have started on a good footing by accepting that we are in a difficult place, and are taking the difficult decisions that will get us out. If anyone ever had any doubts about the need to be self-reliant, the point has now been forcibly drilled home to us. The pursuit of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda is even more compelling now.
I have no doubts whatsoever that we have it in us to build the Ghana of our dreams. I saw the spirit of togetherness and the willingness to help each other when COVID struck. We looked out for each other. I saw the sense of enterprise and innovation of the Ghanaian. I saw our manufacturers quickly adapt their plants to produce sanitizers and our tailors equally quickly displayed the innovation they had always been known for, by turning face masks into fashion items.”
The E-Levy seeks to impose a 1.50% levy on transactions, including Mobile money transfers done between accounts on the same Electronic Money Issuers (EMI), Mobile money transfers from accounts on one EMI to a recipient on another EMI, Transfers from bank accounts to mobile money accounts (either directly, GIP debit, bank cards or another scheme), Transfers from mobile money accounts to bank accounts (either directly, GIP debit, bank cards or another scheme) and Bank transfers originating from a bank account belonging to an individual.
