Accra, Ghana – Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor asserted on Tuesday that Ghana’s Parliament holds the sole constitutional authority to impose taxes and levies, directly addressing the recent controversy surrounding a proposed charge on wallet-to-bank transfers. This statement comes amid public outcry and subsequent suspension of the fee, which was announced by a private entity rather than initiated through a legislative process.
Context of the Fee Dispute
The debate ignited following an announcement by MobileMoney Limited, reportedly a subsidiary of MTN, that it would implement a 0.75 percent charge on direct transfers from mobile money wallets to bank accounts, slated to begin June 1. This proposed fee immediately drew parallels to the widely criticized Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), a tax on digital financial transactions previously enacted by Parliament.
However, Mr. Dafeamekpor distinguished the two situations, emphasizing the procedural differences. He stated that the E-Levy was introduced via a government-sponsored bill, underwent extensive debate in Parliament, and was ultimately passed into law by the legislative body.
Leave a Reply