Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, Kwaku Kwarteng, says he disagrees with suggestions that the Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy) has not met the government's expectations.

He said it is inappropriate to assess a national policy of such nature just a month after its implementation.

Speaking on Top Story on Monday, Mr. Kwarteng said the platform on which to run the tax was not ready; adding that the Ghana Revenue Authority was yet to audit what had been generated through the various collectors.

“You cannot have a tax policy like this passed in May and you are here in June saying that the tax has not produced the expected outcome and so government should have known that it was not going to work… We cannot treat national policies like that, that is the first point.

"I think that it is early days yet, let us see how this tax handle goes… I think it is out of place completely and it's not a very responsible analysis of government policy,” he said.

https://www.myjoyonline.com/e-levy-has-failed-to-live-up-to-governments-expectation-gabby-otchere-darko/

According to him, the government would take its own decision along the line if it realized the levy would not generate the kind of revenues expected.

Mr. Kwarteng urged critics to be patient in assessing the levy.

“My respectful suggestion to everybody is that Ghana is forever. Let us see how this policy goes. As I said, the platform to even run the policy is not even ready. Let us have patience, let us not signal to even the paying public that this policy is failing and so do not support it,” he added.

Meanwhile, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, in a tweet on Monday, disclosed that the Electronic Transactions Levy (e-levy) had generated less than ¢60 million, close to two months after its implementation.

https://www.myjoyonline.com/it-is-too-early-to-rate-performance-of-e-levy-prof-lord-mensah/

He said the levy had failed to live up to the expectations of the government.

“What options are open to the government? The question should rather be: what option if adopted, will re-inject investor confidence in our economy? Even if we find the $3-5 billion required, will that help? E-levy which was to have given us some 600m by now has done less than 60m,” he said in his tweet.