Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye DC, has endorsed the e-levy, claiming that it is a better alternative to seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
He pointed out that going to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout has considerably more negative effects for the country than the e-downsides. levy’s
“This country has a lot of money.” Which do we prefer as a nation: earning our own interest-free revenue as a state or taking out loans with high interest rates?” he asked those opposed to the electronic transaction fee.
“The Central Bank in 2015 told Ghana that given the numbers of mobile money transactions, it is better to tax electronic transactions to raise revenue than to go to the IMF for loans,” Abronye DC said on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo Morning Show.
“The interest that every Ghanaian will pay will be far higher than paying the e-levy,” he continued.
Let the nation take out a 3 million dollar debt or a 1.5 million dollar loan and watch what happens…
You and I are still paying the interest on that loan that we went to the Chinese Development Bank for in 2009 under Mills for a 1.5 billion dollar loan that we couldn’t even get all of…”
Aside from the exorbitant interest rates that the country would have to pay, the NPP spokesperson stated that IMF loans come with strict conditions that are detrimental to the beneficiary country’s growth and development.
He cited Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire as examples of African countries that have reaped significant benefits from the adoption of the e-levy, and Ghana will profit similarly.
Mr. Baffoe went on to say that anyone who opposes the e-transaction tax has no right to demand good hospitals, roads, or social services.
“If we agree that the country is 60 years old, we must also agree that we as a people must stop borrowing,” he said.
Source: GhanaFeed.com