Former President John Dramani Mahama has cast doubt on the potencity of the e-levy to impact the lives of Ghanaians positively as projected by the Akufo-Addo led administration.
He asserts that government’s own budget proposals show that the e-levy which commenced on Sunday, May 1 will not make any significant contribution in resolving the problems but would exert an adverse toll on the people of Ghana.
Mr. Mahama said this while delivering an address at a National Democratic Congress (NDC) event dubbed “Ghana at Crossroads” on Monday, May 2.
The 2020 presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said:
“Government’s desperation to tax Ghanaians to get the nation out of the hell hole it has dumped us will not succeed because Government’s own budget proposals show that the e-levy will not make any significant contribution in resolving our problems but would exert an adverse toll on the people of Ghana.
“We in the NDC do not oppose taxation as a principle. We will not be pretentious and couch fanciful slogans to condemn the principle of taxation like the NPP did in the past. We are, however, implacably opposed to distortionary and burdensome taxes like the e-levy that only force Ghanaians to endure more suffering.”
Mahama further assured that a future NDC government will abolish the E-levy.
“A new National Democratic Congress Government, God willing and with the votes of the sovereign people of Ghana – in 2025 – will repeal the E-Levy Act. Even as this government remains fixated with taxing its way out of economic mismanagement, the Akufo-Addo government has been wasteful. They have failed to demonstrate prudence in public financial management.
“The people of Ghana cannot be called upon to pay more taxes only for the accruing money belonging to the people of Ghana, to be dubiously and wastefully shared among family and friends through various fraudulent procurement practices.”
