The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) has described the 1.75% Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) introduced by the government in the 2022 Budget as punitive.

According to its Director, Professor Peter Quartey, the E-Levy should rather be pegged at a rate between 0.5 and 0.75 percent.

Professor Peter Quartey said the proposed rate from his institution will face less resistance from the public and also yield significant revenue for national development.

He explained further that though the policy is a good one the government should embark on stakeholder consultations to get the E-Levy reviewed.

“Our proposal will be a Levy of 0.5% to 0.75%. We think that will be minimal though people might complain but they will still enjoy the service and then gradually you get the revenue and overtime you review it if you need to increase the Levy. But we feel the 1.75% is punitive”, he stressed.

On the monetary sector, he said the government ought to promote production to boost supply of goods to curtail inflation.

“We’ve seen threat from inflation and exchange rate and measures to increase aggregate supply. We ought to promote production and when that is done supply increase and that’s a way to curb inflation. We need to look at the supply side factors in addition to the demand side factors to curtail inflation”

He also called for a dialogue in Parliament between the Majority and the Minority to prevent the eroding of investor confidence and also keep the exchange rate relatively stable.

“There should be a dialogue in parliament instead of pursuing political interest. If that is not done it will affect investor confidence and cost of doing business”, he mentioned.