The Ministry of Finance has dismissed allegations that the GH¢241,933,000 allocation in the Appropriations Bill for the Electronic Transactions Levy services have been dropped.
It also denied claims that a private firm will be contracted to collect the levy on behalf of the government.
“The Ministry of Finance wish to state that these allegations are untrue,” it insisted in a statement issued on Monday, December 13.
It noted that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is the state-mandated agency to collect the levies.
“GRA will manage all discussions to ensure full deployment of their current platforms and resources for the collection of the E-Levy.”
The rumours were fuelled by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who alleged that a “deep-throat and unimpeachable” source within Cabinet disclosed to him that the e-levy has been removed from the final Appropriations Act.
The statement repeated Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta’s explanation in Parliament in earmarking GH¢241 million as the e-levy services fee.
“We wish to reiterate that the E-Transaction Levy remains one of the efficient means by which government would be able to raise the needed revenue to support the economic development programme for 2022.”
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana