Parliament has passed a bill to abolish the controversial Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
The bill now awaits the assent of President John Dramani Mahama.
The decision to scrap the tax has been widely welcomed by many Ghanaians.
The E-Levy was introduced in 2022 by the previous NPP government. It placed a 1.5% tax on electronic transactions, including mobile money transfers, bank transfers, and online payments.
Read Also >>>> Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075)
Supporters of the levy believed it would help raise funds for infrastructure projects. However, it faced strong opposition from the public, businesses, and political leaders who worried about its impact on digital transactions and the economy.
Read Also >>>> ‘Vote NPP out if E-levy is not used to develop Ghana’ – Presby Moderator
Since its introduction, the tax has sparked protests and widespread criticism. Many argued that it unfairly burdened low-income earners and people without access to traditional banking services.
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Parliament’s approval of the bill to scrap the levy is a major step forward, but the final decision now rests with President Mahama.
During the 2024 election campaign, President Mahama and the NDC strongly promised to scrap the tax, making it a key part of their message to voters.
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About three months after the NPP Government was voted out, former Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, criticized the Tax, saying it played a big role in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) election loss.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Thursday, March 20, she said she opposed the e-levy because it did not help Ghanaians. Instead, it took money from people who were already struggling.
“I didn’t vote for the e-levy, and I have no regrets. It did not benefit Ghanaians. It only made life harder, especially for poor people,” she said.
She explained that the tax mostly affected low-income workers who used mobile money to support their families in rural areas.
Adwoa Safo also pointed out that the government had promised the e-levy would help Ghana avoid seeking financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, the country still had to turn to the IMF despite introducing the tax.
She said Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s promise to remove the e-levy in his 2024 campaign proves that the tax was a bad idea.
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“If the e-levy was good, why did we still go to the IMF? It didn’t make sense,” she added.
