A leading member of the National Democratic Congress, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has said that the boycott of proceedings for the consideration and passage of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) by the Minority was for a good reason.

According to him, the passage of the Bill is illegal.

Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said in a Facebook post that the recent Supreme Court ruling on the required number needed to form decision-making quorum makes the approval of the Levy unconstitutional.

“138 MPs are needed for a decision but only 137 were present for the purported passage of the E-Levy today. It is simply not turntable to leave the government that has perpetrated this illegality and forced this draconian tax on you and blame the Minority,” he wrote on Tuesday.

He, therefore, stated that “the boycott [by the Minority] also renders the purported passage of the E-Levy illegal, null and void per the NPP group’s own reasoning for overturning the rejection of the 2022 budget.”

He added: “The Minority didn’t bring a Bill to tax anyone. They have fought this Bill tooth and nail and will continue to fight it. Blame the unscrupulous Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government that went as far as rolling out a sick man in an ambulance on a stretcher to vote for this obnoxious tax.”

Background

The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon walked out of the House during the second reading of the Electronic Transaction levy (E-levy) Bill.

Prior to the action taken by the NDC MPs to register their disapproval of the levy, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu reiterated that the levy will have an adverse effect on businesses and worsen the plight of individuals.

As the NDC MPs began to leave the chamber, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu urged Speaker Alban Bagbin to pose the question to affirm the motion to consider the Bill.

The Minority moved briskly and managed to evade the question.

Later, the Speaker posed the question and the Majority affirmed the motion. “The AYES have it,” the Speaker said after a deafening silence when he asked “those not in favour say, NO.”

This completed the second reading of the Electronic Transactions (E-Levy) Bill.

The E-levy Bill now at 1.5% rate is currently at the Consideration Stage. The House is making amendments to the Bill.