Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has said that the National Democratic Congress’s promise to scrap the Electronic Transfer levy (E-levy) will inure to the party’s electoral fortunes.

According to him, the NDC has won a cumulative 100,000 votes with the promise. He did not cite the basis for his claim.

He was reacting to former President John Dramani Mahama’s “Ghana At A Crossroads” lecture during which Mahama reiterated the NDC’s commitment to abolish the E-Levy once it comes to power.

“NDC promises to scrap e-levy…They just won 100,000 votes!,” Kofi Bentil wrote on his Facebook handle.

John Mahama in his May 2 public address buttressed the NDC’s position to abolish the E-levy which it describes as ‘draconian’.

He insisted that although the NDC was not against taxation, they were opposed to burdensome taxes like the E-levy which forces Ghanaians to reel under more suffering.

“Government’s desperation to tax Ghanaians to get the nation out of the hell hole it has dumped us will not succeed because Government’s own budget proposals show that the e-levy will not make any significant contribution in resolving our problems but would exert an adverse toll on the people of Ghana.

“We in the NDC do not oppose taxation as a principle. We will not be pretentious and couch fanciful slogans to condemn the principle of taxation like the NPP did in the past. We are, however, implacably opposed to distortionary and burdensome taxes like the e-levy that only force Ghanaians to endure more suffering.

“A new National Democratic Congress Government, God willing and with the votes of the sovereign people of Ghana – in 2025 – will repeal the E-Levy Act,” John Mahama told the gathering amidst loud cheers.

The Ghana Revenue Authority on May 1 began implementation of the E-levy amidst some reported challenges including taxes on the GH₵100 threshold which is supposed to be exempted.

The GRA has, however, pledged to refund all wrong taxations whiles it works to resolve all the challenges encountered in the implementation phase of the E-levy.

Watch Mahama’s lecture below: