Research by Global Info Analytics, a polling company in Ghana, has revealed that 67% of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency are against the government’s E-levy.
The research, which saw 587 random men and women from all the 10 electoral areas of the constituency interviewed, revealed that 77% of the total sample population do not support the controversial E-levy.
Only 16% declared support for the E-levy and 7% indicated they had no opinion on the subject.
Based on political affiliation, only 28% of persons who declared affiliation to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) support the E-levy in the constituency.
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According to the report, 91% of NDC members in the constituency were against the E-levy, and 6% declared their support.
The reasons for kicking against the E-levy include the fact that the tax will further worsen the tax burden on residents, the high rate of the tax, and not seeing the benefits of other taxes collected by the government.
24% of those who kicked against the levy said the rate was too high.
23% of them said they didn’t see the benefits of other taxes, while 18% of the respondents believe that the government can cut down on waste and its expenditure to generate the revenue needed for its development.
This comes at a time the government is holding town hall meetings to educate Ghanaians on the need for the E-levy.
The government has said that the town hall meetings are aimed at explaining the importance of the E-levy to Ghanaians as well as taking feedback and inputs from relevant stakeholders on the levy.
The government also says the feedback will inform it on the implementation of the levy.
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.
A charge of 1.75% will apply to electronic transactions that are more than GH¢100 on a daily basis.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said that the government is convinced about the need for the e-levy and how it encapsulates the idea of burden-sharing for Ghana’s development.
