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His comments come after Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced the introduction of a 1.75% phone transactions levy payable by mobile money users per transaction above GH¢100.
Delivering the 2022 budget statement and economic policy to Parliament on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, Ofori-Atta said the new levy will compensate for the abolishment of road tolls.
Ofori-Atta noted that the government has scrapped the amount of money being paid by motorists as tolls on public roads in the country.
Explaining the rationale behind the scrapping of the road tolls, the Minister said the revenue that accrues to the state for the construction and maintenance of roads is inadequate and hence, the government has to look elsewhere to equitably generate revenues for the construction and maintenance of our roads.
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Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, Adongo said the government introduced the levies as a convenient way to clear the mess created in the economy.
He said "When the government was borrowing, and we told them to slow down, they ignored it. Today, they are spending 113 percent of the tax collected to pay interest servicing. So they are not taxing us because they want to build roads, schools or because we are going to get drinking water. They are taxing us to pay for their mess.
"They [Dr. Bawumia] said they will move from taxation to production but quite clearly, these are con men who are still scamming us and that is what it has turned out to be. So far, we have counted about 18 taxes and new adjustments, and we are still looking at over 150 fees and charges that are going to be revised, and fees and charges reflected in the economy as taxes. This is happening under a man who said we didn't need to borrow and that he was moving from taxation and to production?"
However, the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, has stated that any Ghanaian transferring over GH¢100 through mobile money is not poor, therefore, must be taxed.
She said the 'poor' used by Bawumia referred to people doing transactions below GH¢100.
She stated that any person sending money that is above GH¢100 to another cannot be considered to be poor because that amount is big enough, therefore, that person must be taxed.
Dr. Adongo speaking on the E-levy introduced by the government, said "E-levy for me was not well thought through at all. Yes, the government needs money, but in looking for money, you do not kill the hen that lays the golden eggs. If someone trades and decides to pay for raw materials electronically, clearly, you are taxing capital. Who taxes capital anywhere in the world? You tax income, revenues, and profits.:
"What this also means is that if the Ghana Revenue Authority assesses a company of its tax obligations, and the company wants to pay electronically, that tax the company owes the government is then taxed again 1.75 percent.”
"So technically, what they are telling the company is that, if they do not want to pay 1.75 percent of saying their tax of GH¢20 million which is a lot of money, then they should go to the bank and do that transfer."
"If you have GH¢100 and above, then you are seen to be rich? I don't know how we will be able to get there as a country economically if we say GH¢100 is our standard because that is an amount that will not be taxed because you are taxing the poor who are already seeing Mobile Money as a social intervention by ordinary Ghanaians," he added.