Even before the brouhaha in Parliament over the passage of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) is resolved, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is preparing to roll out the unpopular tax in phases.
The GRA has written to ARB Apex Bank, regarded in Ghana as the central bank for rural banks, to prepare for the implementation of the levy that will be charged on some electronic and mobile money transactions in three phases.
The letter sighted by Prime News is dated January 31, 2022, and addressed to the Head of Finance & Administration at ARB Apex Bank, Ben Chemel.
“As you may be aware, the Electronic Transfer Levy Bill is under consideration by Parliament While we await the passage of the Bill into Law, I wish to inform you to hold yourself in readiness for the implementation of the levy in three (3) phases as soon as the Bill is passed into Law.
“The GRA is currently developing a monitoring platform for the full implementation of the e-Levy and would be inviting you to collaborate with its Technical Team in this respect,” the letter signed by Commissioner-General, Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, stated.
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A hung Parliament has for months scuttled the government's efforts to pass the E-Levy Bill into law.
All the legislators on the Minority side and some on the Majority side (rumoured to be against the bill) have been fighting the passage of the tax regime since it was announced in the 2022 budget.
Renowned economists, lawyers and social commentators have also in varied ways shot down the proposal by the government to raise some GHS6.9 billion annually from the 1.7% tax rate to be charged on selected electronic and mobile money transactions.
The tax has been criticised as unfair and Draconian because it seeks to tax savings in electronic wallets and too high.
One lawyer, Kofi Bentil, described it as a lazy approach to shore up revenue.
Despite the backlash, the government has given assurance that the introduction of the Electronic Transactions Levy will provide an opportunity to generate more revenue to sustain its flagship programmes.
The tax regime is intended to help transform infrastructure across the country, including building roads, market amenities, health educational facilities, among others
Additionally, the E-Levy, according to the government, will help to deliver massive numbers of jobs through industrialisation and entrepreneurial programmes.