Abolishing E-Levy & Betting Tax Breaches IMF Terms, Says Former Bawumia Spokesperson
Dr. Gideon Boako, the Tano North Member of Parliament, has expressed worries that the government of John Dramani Mahama may impose additional taxes in reaction to the elimination of the e-levy and betting tax.
Dr. Boako’s remarks come after Finance Minister-Designate Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson said that the Mahama administration would eliminate these levies in its first budget and use spending cuts to make up the difference in income.
Dr. Boako voiced concerns in an interview with Citi News on the planned measures’ compatibility with the budgetary policies that were agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He noted that higher taxes would not be the best way to address the country’s financial obligations and that such changes could not address the revenue gap.
We don’t want a situation whereby you give with your left hand and you take with your right hand. They have to be explicit. If they are cutting the taxes, they cut the taxes, they don’t introduce any new taxes, you cannot cancel or scrap e-levy, scrap betting tax, and go behind and create another tax to fill the gap.
“If they indeed want to scrap e-levy, betting tax, the COVID-19, the emission taxes, the only other thing they can do in order to match up with the debt service to revenue ratio as enshrined in the IMF programme and captured in the debt sustainability analysis is to have another tax introduced through the back door to make up for the shortfall. Other than that they do not have any other room.”
