Oppong Nkrumah defends Bawumia’s pledge to eliminate E-Levy

The vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) Manifesto Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has firmly backed the party's flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, after he promised to eliminate the contentious E-Levy.

Dr. Bawumia promised many tax reforms during the NPP's manifesto launch on Sunday, August 19, in Takoradi, including the elimination of the E-Levy and betting tax, if elected in the 2024 general elections.

In an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah defended Dr Bawumia, recalling his early opposition to digital payment taxation before to the E-Levy's implementation.

He contended that it was unfair to expect the Vice President to publicly condemn the policy once it was implemented.

“The Vice President Dr Bawumia, even before the E-levy was introduced, was clear on his position about taxing digital payments. I have been on record saying that when the matter came before the cabinet, he expressed his principal opposition to it. But in the end, the cabinet took a particular position," he stated.

"Of course, it will be folly of him as a sitting Vice President to come and do a press conference and say that he disagrees with the stance of my government. He expressed his position, but we take collective responsibility for what was done around the table.""

“He has therefore now said that if you make him the man in charge in 2025, that principal position that he has, he’s going to establish it by ensuring that this E-levy and other revenue lines that he considers unnecessary will be taken off. There’s no discrepancy between the two," he added.

Source: Lead News Online