By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, Nov 24, GNA – Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says the government will reduce the headline rate of the Electronic Transaction Levy known as E-Levy from the current 1.5 per cent to one per cent.
Also, the tax-free daily threshold on the first Ghc100 electronic transaction would be removed.
Presenting the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, Mr Ofori-Atta said the move was one of the measures the government would be adopting to reset the economy and restore macroeconomic stability.
He said the government had received several proposals for review of the Electronic Transfer Levy and was working closely with all stakeholders to evaluate the impact of the Levy to decide on the next line of action, which would include revision of the various exclusions.
“As a first step, however, the headline rate will be reduced to one percent of the transaction value alongside the removal of the daily threshold,’ he said.
The government introduced the 1.5 per cent on mobile money transactions in May 2022, with the objective of improving tax revenues by tapping into fast-growing digital financial services.
However, the performance of the measure did not meet expectation because of the rates which people thought was too high.
Financial experts had then maintained the introduction of the E-Levy at a 1.5 per cent rate was counterproductive to both the government and the development of Ghana’s digital economy, an called for a reduction of the headline rate.
GNA