The Finance Committee will later today begin deliberations on the controversial E-levy included in the 2022 budget which was laid on the floor of Parliament last night.

The bill amongst others imposes a 1.75% charge on all electronic transactions above a GHC100 threshold.

But it has met stiff opposition from some Ghanaians including Civil Society Organization (CSOs) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which is demanding a total scrapping of the levy amidst claims it will impose further hardship on the ordinary Ghanaian.

Meanwhile the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, says the government is engaging the telecommunications companies to reduce their charges on electronic transactions.

According to him, this reduction is to help the government maintain the 1.75% levy and reduce the impact of the tax on the ordinary Ghanaian.

However, in other to ensure Ghanaians are not burdened with the tax, the government has been exploring ways to reduce the cumulative effect, he noted.

“The government has been engaging with the Telcos. So if the telcos reduce their 2% and even if the government stays at 1.75% that means the state is assured of the revenues of the 1.75% and the net effect on the Ghanaian will still be low,” he said.

Mr. Nkrumah believes that the levy will aid the government to mobilise revenue to deliver on its commitment to the Ghanaian people.

He said that the commitment to fulfil the promises made to Ghanaians should not be met with debt only but with domestic revenues.

“Hypothetically, if the telcos reduce [their charge] by say 0.25% and the government still stays at 1.75%, the net effect is 3.5% as against what would have been 3.75% initially,” he stated.