The Minority staged a walkout in Parliament during the consideration of the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) at the second reading stage on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
The second reading of the levy saw the bill being adopted at the
reduced rate of 1.5% from the initial proposed rate of 1.75%.
The bill is currently under consideration by a Majority house,
following the Minority’s boycott.
Members of the Majority are also deliberating on some proposed
amendments to the bill which have been introduced by the government.
The e-levy is a new tax measure introduced by the government in
the 2022 Budget on basic transactions related to digital payments and
electronic platform transactions.
Critics of the proposal, including the Minority have warned that
the new levy will negatively impact the Fintech space, as well as hurt
low-income persons.
The government has, however, argued the levy would widen the tax net as it could raise an extra GH¢6.9 billion in 2022
