Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said the implementation of the electronic transaction levy law aimed at taxing Ghanaians will create a problem for the party.
He has charged the government to find ways of generating revenue to develop the country instead of taxing the impoverished.
According to the former Trades Minister, taxing individuals can be destructive.
In an interview with Joy News. Dr. Apraku said “the government should tax businesses to generate resources. Individuals’ direct taxes such as this can sometimes be very very destructive, even the business. It is a basic economic principle that the lesser you tax the business and the government reduces its expenditure the better off it is for the nation.”
“In the final analysis, it is the business that can carry the government. So, higher taxes are not desirable as an economic standard. The lower the taxes the greater the prospects for better growth…we are politicians and in the final analysis, the people are the ones who will give their verdict, if it’s as bad as people think it is and NPP insists on it, NPP will pay a big price…whatever be the case, the government must expand its tax net for the corporations i.e. the bigger companies because they are the ones that are powerful and they are the ones that all things being equal evade taxes,” he stated.
“The little ones need protection so, whatever mix that you have, the greater burden ought to be born by the private sector…,” he added.
The President assented to the E-levy Bill on Thursday, March 31, 2022, despite a challenge at the Supreme Court by the Minority in Parliament against its passage.
He believes criticisms against the passage of the controversial tax are unfounded, as countries affected by the pandemic equally resorted to unpopular measures to revive the economy.
According to him, “The world is going through very difficult times. Ghana is no exception, Nigeria is no exception. There is no country in the world that has escaped the ravages of COVID-19… What you need to look at is the elements being put on the ground that looks beyond the Russia Ukraine war.”
“The economy has gone through very difficult times. I can quote statistics of the US and UK economies, but they will not serve a purpose. It is a phenomenon that is going on which has made life difficult,” he said.