Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has said the E-levy spelt cake he cut during his 65th birthday was a gift from a businessman who is not even a family remember nor affiliated to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, his intent was not to provoke Ghanaians as it is being speculated by some social media users.
Some Ghanaians on social media expressed outrage describing the E-levy spelt cake as insensitive because the proposed e-levy remains a source of controversy.
Reacting to the outrage in a radio interview, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said he accepted and cut the cake because all present at the event saw the fun side of it as the gift bearer said all he [Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu] thought about now was the e-levy.
He said he could not have turned down the cake because it was a gift.
“The person who brought the cake as a gift said all I think about these days is the e-levy and so he decided to design e-levy cake for me. Everyone gathered laughed over it. That was the fun side of it. I didn’t order for e-levy cake. The person who brought it is not even a family member,” the Majority Leader explained.
Talking about the gift bearer, he said: “I’ll not disclose the identity of the person who brought the cake because he’s a businessman and this can affect his business. He is not known in NPP status and its unnecessary to disclose his identity.” “The dark green colour of the cake is not even my favourite colour,” he added.
The e-levy remains one of the most controversial bills to be introduced into the country.
The main opposition NDC and its Minority as well as a cross section of the populace are against the 1.75 per cent levy which will affect electronic transactions.
Several calls on the government to drop the proposed tax has fallen on deaf ears.
The government has explained that the upsurge in the use of e-payment platforms, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been an impetus for the introduction of the levy.
As a result, Ghana recorded a total of GHS500 billion from e-transactions in 2020 compared with GHS78 billion in 2016.
The government says the e-Levy proceeds will be used to support entrepreneurship, youth employment, cyber security, and digital and road infrastructure, among others.
Source: Classfmonline.com