Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a former Deputy Communications Minister in the John Mahama administration, believes the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lacks the credibility to call Mr. Mahama’s commitment to repealing the contentious E-levy law if the NDC wins power in 2024 into question.
He stated that, unlike John Mahama, the NPP and its leaders have made bold declarations about taxes they will abolish when they take office but have failed to do so.
He contended that John Mahama can be relied on to keep his E-levy promise, which will be announced in his government’s first budget after taking office.
“Akufo-Addo, Bawumia, and everyone in the NPP do not have the credibility to come and question anyone about whether they will repeal the tax or not because VAT, which gives us over GH20 billion this year and which we introduced in 1995, when Akufo-Addo came, he did not come to repeal it despite leading demonstrations and making huge pledges.” Mahama, Mills, or any other NDC member did not stand anywhere and make a firm promise to cancel the talk tax, despite the fact that they criticized it. He explained that there was a difference between criticizing and promising to repeal it.
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The Director of Communications of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, at a press conference on Wednesday said Mahama’s promise to scrap E-levy when he assumes office is a scam.
But Kwakye Ofosu said the NDC has a better record in keeping its promises than the NPP.
“A government that purported to hate taxes in opposition but imposed 24 taxes cannot be taken seriously,” he remarked on Eyewitness News.
While describing the E-levy as a “regressive tax,” he said the NDC will not delay in scrapping the E-levy after assuming office.
“In the very first budget statement of the new NDC government in 2025, we will introduce the process to repeal the E-levy act,” he said.
