Ghana’s Parliament has on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, abolished the controversial Electronic transaction levy (E-levy) as promised by the government.
This comes after the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, during the presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government to Parliament on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, announced that the e-levy is going to be scrapped together with some other taxes.
It was abolished after the House passed the Electronic Transfer Levy (Repeal) Bill, 2025.
The Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075), was passed by Parliament for the imposition of an electronic transfer levy (e-levy) of 1.5% on electronic transfers. The Act was assented to by former President William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on March 31, 2022, and implemented on May 01, 2022.
The e-levy transaction covers any transfer to or from a mobile money account or from a bank account of a person which includes;
- Mobile money transfers done between wallets on the same electronic money issuer –for example sending money from a an MTN MoMo wallet to another person’s MTN MoMo wallet.
- Transfers from a wallet on one electronic money issuer to a recipient on another electronic money issuer –for example sending money from one’s Vodafone Cash wallet to another person’s AirtelTigo wallet.
- Transfers from bank accounts to mobile money wallets.
- Bank transfers on an instant pay digital platform or application which originates from a bank account belonging to an individual: For example, Kwame transferring money from his ADB app to Akua’s National Investment Bank account.
The policy generated a lot of controversy prior to its implementation where many kicked against it. The government then embarked on townhall meetings to seek the public’s opinion on it, where it was accused of planting people at the meetings to support the initiative.
But President Mahama, prior to the December 2024 elections, promised to scrap the tax together with the betting tax, covid levy and some other nuisance taxes which a lot of Ghanaians hailed.
Following the scrapping of the levy, President Mahama will assent to it for it to take effect.
Ato Forson presents bills to scrap E-levy, betting tax, others to Parliament
