Ningo Prampram lawmaker Samuel Nartey George has said that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will respond appropriately to the address delivered by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
From his initial reaction to the address, Sam George said that the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was either confused or deliberately misleading the Ghanaians.
“Same Script. Same Writer. Same Plot. Different Ink. Bawumia is either clearly confused or deliberately misleading the Ghanaian people. This is not a new chapter. It is simply Act 1, Scene 2 of the horror movie we have been living since 2017. We would respond appropriately,” he wrote on his X platform.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in his address on Wednesday Febraury 7 stated among other things that he will abolish the tax on electronic financial transaction, e-levy, if elected President of Ghana.
The controversial tax was introduced in 2022, and prior to the introduction, Vice President Bawumia had declared his opposition to levies on electronic financial transaction in an interview.
Delivering his first major address to the nation after his election as NPP flagbearer, during which he gave broad policy outlines of a Bawumia Presidency, Dr. Bawumia minced no words in declaring his opposition to taxes on electronic financial transactions, declaring that he will abolish e-levy as President.
Dr Bawumia added that his bid for a Digital and Cashless Ghana will be significantly boosted if e-levy is abolished.
“To move towards a cashless economy, however, we have to encourage the population to use electronic channels payment. To accomplish this, there will be no taxes on digital payments under my administration. The e-levy will therefore, be abolished,” he declared at the UPSA auditorium on February 7.
Dr. Bawumia also announced that as part of a new tax regime by his government, he will also abolish the emission tax, tax on betting as well as the proposed 15% VAT on electricity tariffs, if it is in existence by January 2025.
He also announced that his government would introduce what he described as a friendly, flat tax regime for Ghana, which will boost individuals and businesses, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).
“My administration will introduce a very simple, citizen and business-friendly flat tax regime. A flat tax of a percentage of income for individuals and SMEs, which constitute 98% of all businesses in Ghana, with appropriate exemption thresholds set to protect the poor,” Dr. Bawumia indicated.