Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has given a new trick Ghanaians can apply to swerve the most talked-about tax, Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy).
According to him, people who wish to transfer GH¢200 to another in a day can split it into two days to avoid E-Levy.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, May 13, 2022, he said most people fighting against this tax measure are not affected in any way.
He said, “We are a country moving really forward…We know our salaries are not that high so truly, most of those that people advocate as regressive taxes are not affected at all…And if you have GH¢200, I am sure you can do it in two days and, therefore, there will be a zero-impact.”
Speaking on the anomalies associated with the roll out of the E-Levy, the finance minister said, “I don’t know of any programme which has technology involved that would not have teething problems.”
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, moved the motion for the passage of the E-Levy bill at a revised rate of 1.5% in Parliament.
The 1.5% levy is being charged on selected electronic transfers above GH¢100 on a daily basis.
The tax policy is a move by the government to widen the country’s tax net.
Government commenced the implementation of the E-Levy on May 1, 2022, despite widespread condemnation of the tax policy.
Since the implementation of the E-Levy on May 1, 2022, some Ghanaians have complained about being charged unlawfully.
Meanwhile, the charging entities for the E-Levy are telecommunications companies, commercial banks, special deposit-taking institutions and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
