Professor John Gatsi, an economist, claims that if Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is elected president of Ghana, he will not be able to abolish the e-levy, a tax on electronic financial transactions.
To encourage people to use electronic channels for payment, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia promised to abolish the e-levy and four other taxes.
Professor John Gatsi responded to the flagbearer’s proposal by stating that it would be difficult to implement because the government had imposed the levy to raise money to meet the IMF’s requirements for granting an extended credit facility.
According to Professor Gatsi, the proposal is just a political ploy to help Dr. Bawumia become a more palatable candidate for the general elections. He said that when elected president, the NPP’s flagbearer would not be able to accomplish that.
“I think the focus of all these talks is going to be 2025, and it’s just a political ploy to help Bawumia look good for the election because you’ve already given this government a source of income and the IMF program isn’t going to end in 2025.” In other words, to keep the program running, you need the same amount of funding. How you will be able to rely on the cat as your only source of income and still be considered sustainable by the IMF is beyond me.
Instead of saying that he will suggest taxes A or B to replace the e-levy, Bawumia ought to say this. It is not something he can do, especially under the IMF program, if that is not what he is saying.
