Mahama Administration will abolish e-Levy – Finance Minister designate

The John Mahama Administration says it will abolish the controversial e-Levy in keeping to its campaign promise in the 2024 general elections.

The Minister of Finance designate Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson told the Appointments Committee of Parliament that the government will abolish the obnoxious tax in its first budget.

“My position on the e-Levy is not new. It has not changed and I still stand by my position to abolish it,” he said.

Even though the Minority in Parliament walked out during the debate on the Electronic Transactions Bill (e-Levy), and there were some lawsuits against its implementation and the public largely opposed it, on May 1, 2022, the Ghana government went ahead to start charging the tax.

The e-Levy imposes an additional 1.5 per cent charge on electronic transactions including bank and Mobile Money.

When opposition to the bill heightened, when it was introduced, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta proposed a reduction in the rate from 1.75 to 1.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, before the introduction of the tax, citizens were already paying a one per cent charge on Mobile Money transactions and many argued against it in the face of deepening financial crisis in the country, due to many factors including the country’s growing debt burden, above 80 per cent, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and what many citizens believed to be mismanagement of the economy.

Abolishing the e-Levy would bring relief to Ghanaians who were already overburdened with many regressive taxes.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi

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