Parliament has passed the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy (Repeal) Bill, 2025 to abolish the COVID-19 Levy.
The COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy was introduced as part of fiscal measures to mobilise additional revenue to support the Country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to facilitate economic recovery in the aftermath of the crisis.
In the 2025 Budget Statement, the Government announced its commitment to streamline the indirect tax regime and to reduce the overall cost of doing business as part of broader efforts to stimulate growth, support private sector-led recovery and improve compliance in the Value Added Tax system — one of such reforms was to repeal Act 1068.
The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson explained that the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Act, 2021 has outlived its original purpose.
The repeal was therefore a part of the comprehensive Value Added Tax reform agenda aimed at creating a more transparent, equitable and growth-friendly consumption tax system.
He therefore called on Parliament to approve the Bill and repeal Act 1068.
Government said this move is going to put over GHC3 billion back into the pockets of Ghanaians. This raises a question of how government intends to address that revenue shortfall.
But the Minister has assured that other tax reform measures would cater for this.
Already, the Minority has held a claim that government takes out some taxes and nicodemously introduces new ones or even adds more burden to the taxpayer through other means.
The Minority Leader noted on the floor of Parliament cited the Energy Sector Levy, which was once referred to as ‘Dumsor’ levy — the 1 cedi fuel levy.
He also mentions an 18% increase in electricity tariff as reasons this singular move to repeal the COVID levy must not be celebrated in isolation.
By Christian Yalley
