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Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare, otherwise known as Kwaku Azar, has urged the government to look into tax avoidance, tax evasion and tax exemption for the lost taxes of the country and not Mobile Money (Momo).

According to him, some big men and women who are “big time earners” in the country avoid and evade taxes because there are closer to some big men in the corridors of power.

Kwaku Azar on his Facebook timeline wrote, “the problem is not that most Ghanafuo (Ghanaians) do not pay taxes. The problem is that most Ghanafuo who should be paying taxes are not doing so, unlawfully, and in some cases are even being exempted from doing so.

“Therefore, when it comes to increasing the tax envelope, we should stop running ‘kiti kiti’ after most Ghanafuo, who have little or no income, and ‘bamba’ with the big time earners who avoid and evade taxes.”

He added, “that means going after gold exporters who misprice their exports, lifestyle audit and tax surcharges of those whose wealth cannot be explained by their declared sources of income, ending subsidies of profitable companies in the form of tax exemptions, ensuring that our SOEs are run by the best boards and CEOs so that they are making profits, etc.”

On the issue of Mobile Money, Prof Asare noted, “It is true that the MOMO highway is more lighted. But that is not a good reason to be looking there for our lost tax revenues. We must look for our lost tax revenues where we lost them — the dark alleys of tax avoidance, evasion and exemption.”

The government of Ghana through the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced the introduction of a 1.75% tax on all electronic transactions during the 2022 budget presentation before parliament on November 17, 2021.

According to him, this new directive forms part of strategies to widen the country’s tax net.

He added that the 1.75% tax is also to enhance financial inclusion and protect the vulnerable in the country.

The E-levy since its announcement by the Finance Minister has received public backlash from some Ghanaians especially Members of Parliament from the Minority Caucus.

At a recent press conference, the Minister outlined a number of modifications to the Bill and announced that the government continued to engage stakeholders on the bill ahead of resubmission before MPs.