
E-levy: Minority Files Injunction Application Following Implementation
To prevent the introduction of the controversial electronic transfer levy, often known as E-levy, the Minority in Parliament has filed an injunction application with the Supreme Court in Accra, awaiting the outcome of its substantive case currently before the supreme court.
The court, on the other hand, has set the matter for hearing on May 4, 2022, three days after the levy’s intended implementation date.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, reported on his Facebook page that the application was successfully filed on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, Parliament passed the bill in the absence of the Minority MPs, who had walked out before the Bill was debated at the second reading stage.
The fee, which was reduced from 1.75 percent to 1.5 percent on March 29, 2022, would be a tax on electronic transactions, including mobile money payments.
The fee will be applied to electronic transactions totaling more than GH100 each day.
Critics of the proposal have warned that the new tax will harm the Fintech industry, as well as low-income persons and others who are not part of the official banking system.
Since its introduction in the 2022 budget, the fee has been a cause of contention in Parliament.
Tensions to a head in December 2021, when MPs clashed in Parliament.