The Bono Regional Communicator for the New Patriotic Party, Kwame Baffoe, has stated that if Ghanaians reject the e-levy, then they have no right to call for good hospitals, roads and other social amenities.
He defended his stance saying that it is taxes that are used to undertake developmental projects including constructing motorable roads and building good hospitals.
According to him p,aying of taxes should not be perceived as suffering but rather paying high interest rates on loans puts a huge burden on the tax payer.
Kwame Baffoe believes that accepting the e-levy, which has been a subject of controversy in both parliament and the public domain, is the lesser of two evils compared to receiving loans from the IMF as suggested by some economic and fiscal experts.
Popularly known as Abronye DC, the NPP communicator said that “you are opposing taxes [e-levy] then you don’t have any right to call for good hospitals, you don’t have the right…yes it is taxes that are used to develop the country”.
He further indicated that Ghanaians will have moral right to demand for accountability when they subscribe to paying the electronic transaction tax being deliberated upon in parliament.
“Once Ghanaians accept to pay the taxes I will support them demand for accountability for the e-levy [from government] when the time is due. I won’t say I am an NPP member because when the e-levy is used to construct roads, I will be the one to benefit and when it is used to build hospitals, I will be the one to benefit and when it is used to expand secondary schools and basic schools…”
In his view, Ghanaians should understand government’s position and agree to it then they can subsequently hold them to account and request for a list of all projects undertaken with e-levy.
While noting that going to the IMF for financial assistance is not sustainable, he added that the country paid an interest of 350million dollars for the loan Ghana took from the institution in 2014 under the John Mahama-led administration.
