Akim Asene (E/R), Nov. 22, GNA – Mobile money subscribers in the Asene Manso Akroso District of the Eastern Region have called for a downward review of the 1.75 per cent electronic transaction levy (E-levy) announced in the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government.
They said though the introduction of mobile money transaction had reduced travelling expenses of remitting money to relatives, the decision by the Government to impose a 1.75 per cent levy on it was not the best.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Kojo Arthur, a mobile money subscriber at Akim Asene, said the cost of travelling with cash was high but the percentage of the levy would also discourage many people from patronising mobile money.
That, he said, would push several people in the informal sector to begin engaging in underhand dealings and black marketing to escape paying the tax.
Ms Lilly Braine-Jesuane, Leader of Moral Entrepreneurial Group, a food processing company, said some of her goods were bought in bulk and she paid through electronic transfer and called for a reduction in the E-levy.
Though she said she was not against paying tax, the 1.75 per cent should be reconsidered to enhance the digitisation drive by government to achieve a cashless economy.
She encouraged farmer-based groups to support the call on government to reduce the tax in order not to affect operators in the agriculture value-chain.
Mr Alfred Obeng, a mobile money vendor, urged the government to build consensus with all stakeholders to promote a better understanding of the levy.
GNA