Plaudits continue to pour in about 2025 Budget statement

An economist and professor of finance at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof. Godfred Bokpin, has described the 2025 budget as positive – particularly government’s resolve to remove taxes such as the E-levy and COVID levy, as well as the decoupling of value-added tax (VAT).

This removal will ease the burden on already struggling individuals and businesses, he indicated.

However, he was quick to add that the decoupling of VAT should result in a rate not above 18 percent, a threshold he said is necessary for business sustainability and profitability.

Prof. Bokpin spoke in Accra at an event organised by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) dubbed ‘2025 Budget Review’.

He observed that the economy’s current structure and fiscal regime make it actually cheaper to import and put your logo on a product than produce locally.

To fill the gap that removing these tax handles will create, Prof. Bokpin said government must as a matter of urgency create a taxable economy robust enough to support its revenue aspirations.

The way forward is to derisk the macroeconomic environment and make it conducive for businesses to operate because there is a high production cost. Prof. Bokpin explained this is what the 2025 budget seeks to achieve.

Another key area he said is crucial for sustainable growth is the ease with which people and goods move from one place to another. “Any economy that does not make it easy for the movement of goods and people will have low productivity,” he added.

Meanwhile, President-Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) for Greater Accra, Tsonam Akpeloo, has described the 2025 budget as promising and sustainable, particularly for the private sector.

Scrapping the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) will have a significant impact on businesses, as many of their financial transactions were subject to double charges due to the levy’s existence, he noted.

Mr. Akpeloo emphasised that eliminating some taxes will ease the burden on businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which rely heavily on mobile money transactions.

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has laid before Parliament the Electronic Transfer Levy (Repeal) bill 2025, the Emissions Levy (Repeal) bill 2025 and the Income Tax Amendment bill 2025.

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