A leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has bemoaned the state of the country’s revenue generation.
According to him, despite the passage of the Electronic Transfer Levy in March 2022 and subsequent implementation in May, the tax measure is only delivering 10 percent of the estimated revenues for the country.
On Monday, June 27, 2022, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko stated in a series of tweets that Ghana’s revenue generation is still relatively low in comparison to the rest of the world.
He also bemoaned the rising debt level, which reached GH¢391.9 billion at the end of March 2022.
“After 5 months of stalemate and bashing, the e-levy, after implementation, is delivering only 10% of estimated revenues; our revenues remain very low as compared to the rest of the world; debt levels dangerously high, cedi, like most currencies, struggling against the US dollar,” he wrote.
The E-Levy was passed and signed into law by President Akufo-Addo despite fierce opposition from a cross-section of Ghanaians, the minority in parliament, civil society organizations, and various stakeholders.
The government believes the tax measure is necessary to close revenue gaps and help address the nation’s revenue mobilization and economic management, even though many have criticized it as regressive and one that would reverse progress made toward a cashless economy.
After a five-month impasse in Parliament over its passage, the E-Levy‘s projected revenue for the 2022 fiscal year had to be revised from GH¢6.9 billion to GH¢4.9 billion.
