The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has requested for a review of sections of the law to eliminate the 1.5 percent tax on salary payments received via mobile money, ahead of the widely anticipated introduction of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) in May 2022.
According to the chamber, under current law, salaries received via mobile money are subject to the 1.5 percent E-levy, but salaries paid through banks are not subject to the E-levy.
According to the Telecommunications Chamber, such a step is discriminatory.
The levy is a 1.5 percent tax on electronic transactions such as mobile money transfers between accounts on the same network, mobile money transfers from one network to another network, transfers from bank accounts to mobile money accounts, and transfers from mobile money accounts to bank accounts.
The fee will be applied to electronic transfers totaling more than GH¢100 each day.
Speaking to Citi Business News on the preparations for the levy’s implementation, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, said it is critical to consider all essential challenges.
“Some of the challenges we have seen with the law, as has been passed, which we hope to take up, are a few discriminatory elements within what’s happening. For example, if your salary is paid from a bank account, it won’t attract the E-Levy, but if you are paid with mobile money, then it will attract the E-Levy. That definitely is not equitable and is discriminatory.”
“We hope that going forward, such issues will be addressed. We know that one of the elements of a good tax is that it should not be discriminatory, especially due to the channels that one uses. All of these are things we will be working on with government to ensure that the unintended consequences do not come and derail government’s own digitalization agenda that it’s put up,” he added.
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SOURCE: CITINEWS
