Communications and Digitalisation Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has defended government’s decision to impose a 1.75% phone transactions levy payable by mobile money users per transaction above ¢100.

A section of Ghanaians including the Minority in Parliament has kicked against this newly introduced Electronic-levy.

The opposers argue that the move will intensify the hardships of the average Ghanaian.

But according to the Ablekuma West MP, “if you have more than a ¢100 to send a day, then you’re not poor.”

Explaining what the newly introduced levy is about, the Ablekuma West legislator explained that people who cumulatively send GH¢3000 a month will not be taxed.

“So if you really are poor and you are in a position to send a GH¢100 a day, then we need to re-classify our definition of who really the beneficiaries of these are. And it is only the sender who pays, not the recipient. Unlike the telcos where both the sender and receiver pay,” she said on Thursday.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta when presenting the 2022 budget on Wednesday said government is looking to introduce innovative ways of raising revenue after it scrapped the payment of tolls on roads.

Concurring with this 'innovative' move, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful on Accra-based GHOne TV said that the new tax is expected to generate over GH¢500 million a month for the government.

“So if you are looking at bulk payments, cashouts, person to person transfers, wallet to bank transfers, as of October we are looking at about GH¢11 million, if you are looking at the merchants, debit payments, sending, transfers, transfers to vouchers and the cashouts we are looking at GH¢440 million.

“If you are looking at GHIPSS, and merchant payments and direct debit payments and organisations paying to customers and paying bills and sending money we are looking at GH¢45 million so in total it is possible for the government to get about GH¢500 million from this in a month,” she explained.