Cuts International Urges Government to Avoid Burdening Ghanaians with Road Tolls and E-Levy
Written by GliveRadio Accra on July 24, 2024
Cuts International, a consumer advocacy group, has urged the government to refrain from imposing both road tolls and the Electronic Transfer Levy (e-levy) simultaneously on Ghanaians.
In its mid-year budget presentation, the government announced plans to reintroduce road and bridge tolls in 2025, in addition to continuing the collection of the E-levy, which is partly aimed at addressing road issues in Ghana.
Appiah Kusi Adomako, West African Director of Cuts International, expressed his concerns in an interview with Citi News in Accra.
He questioned whether the generated revenue would be used for its intended purposes and highlighted the additional tax burden this would place on Ghanaians.
“By putting the E-Levy at the same time with the road toll I think there will be a lot of taxes on Ghanaians. Of course, we do understand the crisis we find ourselves in as a nation. We are currently in an IMF emergency room where we need all the oxygen of taxes to resuscitate the economy.
“But the question I also want to ask ourselves is that the revenue that is going to accrue from the new road tolls is going to find its way in fixing and maintaining roads that will be good enough. But I am a bit doubtful because already when you buy fuel I think about 0.5p of litre that you buy at the pump goes to the road fund and that road fund is not being used to fix the potholes and gullies that are on our roads.”