The Minority Caucus in Parliament has announced its intention to leverage its newly acquired majority to repeal the controversial e-levy and other taxes considered burdensome for Ghanaians.
This announcement follows Speaker Alban Bagbin’s declaration on Thursday, October 17, that four parliamentary seats are now vacant. This decision was made after three sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) expressed their intention to run as independent candidates in the 2024 general elections.
Moreover, the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, who first entered Parliament in 2020 as an independent MP, has announced his plans to contest the upcoming elections under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) banner.
If Bagbin’s ruling is upheld, it will shift the balance of power in Parliament, giving the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus a slim majority with 136 MPs, while the NPP will have 135.
This potential shift has reignited discussions within the Minority Caucus about reversing unpopular tax measures, particularly the e-levy.
During a press conference on Sunday, October 20, Minority Leader Ato Forson stated, “We have always made it clear that our purpose in Parliament is to serve the ordinary people of Ghana.
It is indeed true that we will utilize our new majority to benefit Ghanaians by introducing a private member’s bill to eliminate the e-levy and alleviate the suffering of the Ghanaian people.”
“It is also true that we will use our new majority to remove the betting tax and other nuisance taxes that are affecting the survival of the businesses and the people of Ghana.
“We assure you that we will use our new majority to protect businesses and the people of Ghana, as we have always maintained. We are confident that the Right Honourable Speaker has acted fairly, firmly and lawfully in a matter that is perfectly within his province,” he stated.
