President Nana Akufo-Addo has signed the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) Bill into law.
The final endorsement by the president comes barely two days after parliament passed the bill.
It implies that the bill is likely to be operational by May 2022, as suggested by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta without any major hurdle.
Mr Ofori-Atta said they had received assurances from the Controller and Accountant General and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), who will be the revenue collectors for the new levy.
The bill was passed by a one-sided House after the Minority in Parliament staged a walkout on Tuesday, 29 March 2022.
This was after a heated debate after Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta moved a motion for the revised bill to be approved.
The Majority in Parliament fiercely defended the bill and pointed out the advantages of the E-levy in reviving the economy.
The Minority in Parliament also argued out reasons for the rejection of the bill which they said will culminate in hardships.
The NDC MPs were of the view that the new tax will not solve the economic challenges of the country.
They then walked out of the Chamber as the bill was adopted for consideration and amendment.
Among the revisions was the reduction of the bill from the initial 1.75% to 1.5%.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is now expected to assent to the bill to make it operational.
However, the Minority in Parliament has rejected that passage of the bill describing it as “null and void”.
Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said the House did not have voting quorum at the time the bill was read for the second and third stages.
Additionally, he said the House did not also have a voting quorum during the deliberations and considerations.
For him, “it was a charade” and “there is no E-levy”.
NDC MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who reacted in a Facebook post said:
“Going by the Supreme Court’s decision, the E-Levy has not been passed. What transpired today is a ridiculous nullity!”
“You thought we will give you the pleasure of returning to court for a declaration that the Assin North MP shouldn’t have been present in the Chamber to vote so that you can claim a 137-136 victory for the E-Levy.
“With our strategic walk out, you fall short of the required 138 quorum under article 104(1) of the 1992 Constitution and as affirmed by the Supreme Court in the recent Justice Abdulai case.
“There can be no contention about Hon. Adwoa Safo’s absence from today’s proceedings.
“Trust your NDC representatives, we have a conscience, and we know that the real power belongs to you,” he added.
What is the E-levy?
The E-levy is a tax applied on transactions made on electronic or digital platforms. The Minister for Finance announced in parliament the intention to implement the bill where 1.75% will be taxed on all digital transactions during the presentation of the 2022 budget.
The E-Levy is expected to generate an estimated amount of GH¢ 6,96 billion in 2022, GH¢7.89 billion in 2023, GH¢8.92 billion in 2024 and GH¢10.09 billion in 2025.
It is also one of the measures to increase the country’s tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio from 13 per cent to 16 per cent.
According to Mr Ofori-Atta, the E-Levy will not be applicable for the following:
- Cumulative transfers of GHC100 per day made by the same person.
- Transfers between accounts owned by the same person.
- Transfers for the payment of taxes, fees and charges on the Ghana.gov platform
- Electronic clearing of cheques.
- Specified merchant payments (that is, payments to commercial establishments registered with the GRA for income tax and VAT purposes).
- Transfers between principal, master agent and agent’s accounts.
On the other hand, the E-Levy will be charged fully on the following:
- Mobile money transfers between accounts on the same electronic money issuer (EMI).
- Mobile money transfers from an account on one EMI to a recipient on another EMI.
- Transfers from bank accounts to mobile money accounts.
- Transfer from mobile money accounts to bank accounts.
- Bank transfers on a digital platform or application which originate from a bank account belonging to an individual to another individual.
The levy had divided parliament, with the Majority pushing for approval, while the Minority kicked against it.
There was a split vote of 12 for each side at parliament’s finance committee until the chairman cast the decisive vote favouring the proposal.
Parliament degenerated into fisticuffs at a meeting to approve the levy, prompting an adjournment to 18 January 2022.
The chamber turned chaotic as MPs pushed, shoved and punched each other during the heated exchanges that many observers have since condemned.
This was after the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin had left and delegated the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei Owusu, to take over proceedings.
The Minority had said it will do all it can to ensure that the bill does not see the light of day, insisting it was not in the best interest of Ghanaians.
Discussions on the proposed levy
Since the announcement by the minister in parliament last year, the tax has faced strong rejection with tax experts describing it as harsh, considering the economic situation in the country but the government insisted it would pass it.
The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) called on the government to reconsider imposing a 1.75% levy on mobile money and other electronic transactions in the country.
The chamber maintained that the proposed levy would further worsen the plight of businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which were mainly growth-driven and susceptible to economic and market cycles.
GNCCI said to increase revenue, the government should rather focus on finding innovative ways of widening the tax net, ensuring tax compliance, as well as addressing the rising levels of tax exemptions which did not commensurate with business growth.
Investment banking firm C-nergy Ghana Limited joined the chorus in admonishing the government to review the proposed Electronic Transaction Levy.
Even though C-nergy is not entirely opposed to the levy, they hold the opinion that “the 1.75% E-Transactions levy rate is high”.
Analysts from the firm are of the belief that the scope and coverage of the levy are wide enough to generate the targeted revenues “if it is monitored and managed effectively”.
Additionally, the Association of Mobile Money Agents had planned a strike and demonstration over the controversial e-levy proposition on Thursday, 23 December 2021, but called it off.
For Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, the approval of the E-levy will spell doom for the governing NPP in the 2024 elections.
“It is very clear that if this your E-Levy goes through, you (NPP) have lost the election,” he said during a speech at a meeting with former legislators on Thursday, 23 December 2021.
