Reverend Tony Asamoah Boateng, also known as Apae Live, has weighed in on the contentious Electronic Transactions Levy debate (E-Levy).
According to the founder and head of Great Light Worship Center, the ruling New Patriotic Party, which came to office on a pledge to be pro-poor in policy, has reversed course and decided to levy a 1.75 percent tax on all electronic transactions, including Mobile Money.
“The majority of individuals who rely on the Mobile Money service are impoverished, some of whom do not have employment and others who do not have a legitimate work and hence are unable to go to the bank with their limited funds.”
“Even if we’re hungry, we shouldn’t force ourselves to eat with both hands. We already pay a lot of taxes, but that’s not enough for you politicians who spend a lot of money, so now you have to tax the little that the poor have; you’re the ones who claim to have come to help the poor. So, if you want to tax the small amounts of money that poor people have on their mobile money, I tend to disagree,” he told Oman Channel.
While expressing his support for taxing for national development, Reverend Tony Asamoah cautioned that government tax policies should not burden the poor excessively.
“Taxation is supported by the Bible.” But I would say it is not right when a tax policy has the potential to burden the poor or cause the poor to remain poorer,” he said.
The opposition and several Ghanaians have been vocal in their opposition to the E-levy.
A recent effort by the administration to bring a measure on the topic before parliament under a certificate of emergency led in a scuffle in the House of Commons.
Reverend Tony Asamoah Boateng, reacting to the recent fight in parliament between the ruling and minority parties, called it a shame to the country and a horrible example for future generations.