Ghanaian songwriter, Phil Evans Akesse-Brempong, famously known as Akesse Brempong, has asked the government to block all loopholes in the tax collection system.
Akesse Brempong speaking on Accra Based-radio station put forward that if the government blocks those loopholes, it will give the country more money than what he seeks to make from e-levy.
According to him, the majority of Ghanaians are kicking against the e-levy because of the loopholes in tax collection.
“We’ve had levies upon levies and the argument has been that there are still loopholes in the tax collection system,’ he said.
The e-levy seeks to impose a 1.75% levy on some electronic transactions: 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.
But then the introduction of the bill has met stiff opposition from the opposition, who argue it will further compound the hardships of the ordinary Ghanaian.
The government, however, insists that the e-levy is necessary to expand the tax base for sustained development and reduce the debt burden.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Abba Kwegyirba Aggrey
