ACCRA, GHANA - MARCH 01: A general view of the Parliament of Ghana during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit, in the capital Accra on March 01, 2016. (Photo by Okan Ozer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Ghana’s parliament has rejected the government’s 2022 budget proposal owing to concerns over an electronic banking levy.
Ken Ofori-Artta, Ghana’s finance minister, had on November 17, announced the country’s plan to introduce 1.75% levy on all electronic transactions including on mobile money payments, bank transfers and merchant payments from January to widen the tax net.
At the parliament on Friday, the ruling party, New Patriotic Party lawmakers walked out after accusing the house speaker of bias because he said the finance minister should not be present during the vote.
In their absence, a vote was conducted and the opposition rejected the budget, Reuters reported.
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In a tweet afterwards, Sam George, opposition lawmaker, wrote “The 2022 budget has been rejected by parliament”.
“We as a minority took a stand with the people of Ghana to reject a budget that had the obnoxious E-Levy, increased government fees and charges. Victory for Ghana,” he said.
This means the ruling party will now have to negotiate with the opposition party in parliament to reach a compromise over the budget proposal.
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