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The E-levy will promote the country’s prosperity through entrepreneurship, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said.
Speaking at the 73rd annual New Year School on Wednesday in Accra, he said that the e-Levy is linked to the government’s YouStart project and will assist promote such entrepreneurship programmes.
“The E-Levy is intrinsically linked to the YouStart initiative. We consider the E-Levy an essential tool to increase our tax to GDP from around 13 percent to 16 percent and above,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.
He emphasised that the introduction of the levy will afford the country enough revenue to sustain investments in entrepreneurship.
“The E-Levy would not only ensure that we do not crowd-out the private sector by reducing borrowing, but would also ensure that we have the revenues to sustainably invest in entrepreneurship, youth employment, cyber security, digital and road infrastructure,” the Minister said.
“The E-Levy also provides a means for all Ghanaians to help support their country and grow,” he added.
Controversial e-levy
The e-Levy has been slammed by the Minority and a cross-section of the populace, who have called on the government to scrap it.
These pleas to scrap the new tax, however, have gone unheeded. The government claims that the rise in the use of e-payment platforms as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak was a driving force for the levy’s implementation.
As a result, Ghana generated GHC500 billion in e-transactions in 2020, up from GHC78 billion in 2016.
The e-Levy funds will be used to encourage entrepreneurship, youth employment, cyber security, and digital and road infrastructure, among other things, according to the administration.