President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the government will pass the controversial electronic transaction levy (E-levy) despite opposing views from Ghanaians.
E-Levy, he said is the only way for the government to pay for the free water and free electricity enjoyed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said “Revenues during 2020/2021 went down considerably because of the slowing down of the economic activities that came from the COVID-19. At the same time, government, in order to keep the country going, did incur some expenditures on the free water, the free electricity. These were the unavoidable expenses that the government had to make.
Addressing traditional leaders from Dzodze in the Volta region on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, he said the novel tax is the catalyst Ghana needs to create more jobs.
He continued: “These are the efforts that we are now making which are being resisted by the opposition but we will try and lose the gab. That is the reason it has become necessary for us to use these measures like this famous tax which has caused so much unnecessary disputation; nevertheless, we would continue.”