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In a recent BBC interview, Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo answered some tough questions about the state of the country's economy. When asked about the e-Levy, he noted that "[w]e think it is necessary, they're not already impoverished, we are talking about taxing an industry where a lot of value is being created and we want to also bring that value into government's coffers." He then was confronted with statistics about currency depreciation, including that the country was the worst among all countries except Russia.
"I've seen a lot of articles and op-eds about the physical security aspect of this proposed e-Levy --- that the new tax will put craftsmen, laborers, truck drivers, and artisans at increased risk of home invasions and highway robbery, and that may well be true. But that isn't the only risk of the ill-conceived digital tax," said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.
"The greatest societal threat of this e-Levy is that it is a complete reversal on the pro-technology brand that Ghana has been curating over the past half-decade. When discussing fintech in Africa, one would be remiss if they didn't consider Ghana. It was mostly moving in the right direction. Even with their CBDC, they are moving forward with more pragmatism than we're seeing in other regional countries, like Nigeria," said Gardner. "It truly is a shame that the president is considering that the industry should be targeted because it is creating a lot of value."
"Technology is the great equalizer. It is the new frontier --- especially financial technology, which is currently enjoying an unprecedented boom. The countries that are building a culture of progress and innovation will enjoy this boom and build 21st century economies that will help developing countries rise up, well beyond where most would believe possible. Technology has that capability. And, instead of doubling down on tech, supporting a rapidly growing industry, the government is punishing its citizenry for embracing it. That's not just a mixed message, it is the wrong message," said Gardner.
Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Modulus has provided its exchange solution to some of the industry's most profitable digital asset exchanges, including a well-known multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world's most notable institutions, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.
"I think we're at a pivotal time in history. We've been hit by the pandemic, and now there's much geopolitical uncertainty in Eastern Europe. But, through it all, financial technologies have made significant jumps over the past few years. That's because these new technologies are truly transformative in nature. It is something that countries should want to foster, not tear down with unwieldy taxation," said Gardner.
