Ghana’s new incoming Mahama administration is planning to remove several taxes, including the controversial Electronic Levy (E-Levy).
State of Play
The E-Levy was introduced in 2022 and placed a 1.5% tax on the transfer of mobile money from one consumer to another.
The levy was later reduced to 1% in 2023.
- The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) predicted a revenue generation of GHC 611 million in its first year of operation and generated GHC 612.34 million.
- In 2023, the GRA estimated the tax to generate GHC 1.11 billion in revenue. The tax managed to generate GHC 1.19 billion at the end of the year.
- In 2024, the GRA predicted GHC 2.1 billion. The tax had generated GHC 810 million in the first half of 2024.
- If removed, the incoming government will be losing out on more than GHC 2 billion in revenue from the E-Levy.
What They're Saying
In 2024, an official from the GRA stated that they would like to see the E-Levy be maintained to help the country with its revenue.
“We have pleading that it's better we sustain the revenue that is coming from it 1.1 billion or 1.2 billion that was raised in 2023, helped in filling some holes in the country otherwise, we may be depending too much on loans, which will not help the economy.
