Johnson Aseidu Nketiah, General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said that if his party wins power, they would abolish the Electronic Transaction Levy, popularly known as the E-levy.
He stated this while marching with members of the Coalition of Concerned Ghanaians during the ‘Yentua’ demonstration to protest the government’s efforts to convince Parliament to adopt the controversial E-levy.
In a statement to the media, Mr. Nketiah said that the NDC is not opposed to taxation, but that the E-levy is an effort by the government to deprive regular Ghanaians of a source of income in the midst of hardship.
“We are not against taxation. Taxation is for value addition. But we will not sit and watch the government to keep robbing us. The E-levy is not taxation, it is daylight robbery. The alternatives are there. Who in his right senses in this country asked the Minister for Roads to argue that we abolish the road tolls and convert the toll booths to toilets and washrooms?”.
“The fire will keep burning so long as we have a government that operates with impunity,” he added.
He noted the opposition party will repeal the E-Levy “in an unlikely event that the E-levy is passed.”
“We will abolish it within the first 100 days when we assume power. It is not taxation. It is daylight robbery. Taking people’s capital from their pockets,” he added.
The NDC has been outspoken in its opposition to the 1.75 percent transaction tax, which applies to mobile money and bank transfers.
In response, the administration has arranged a series of town hall meetings to gain Ghanaians’ support.
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SOURCE: CITINEWS
