Ghana repeals E-Levy as President Mahama signs abolition bill

Ghana's President John Mahama signed the Electronic Transfer Levy (Repeal) Bill, 2025 into law on 2 April 2025, abolishing the E-Levy, the charge on electronic transactions such as mobile-money transfers that had been in place since 2022.

Mahama also signed the Emissions Levy (Repeal) Bill, 2025 and the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which removes the 10 per cent tax on gross betting winnings, together with the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Public Financial Management Bill, 2025, the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Gold Board Bill, 2025.

Parliament had approved the E-Levy repeal on 26 March 2025, after Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson presented a package of eight tax and fiscal bills to the House on 13 March. Abolishing the levy within the first 120 days of a new administration was a campaign pledge made by Mahama and his National Democratic Congress ahead of the December 2024 elections.

BACKGROUND

The E-Levy was introduced in 2022 under the previous administration at a rate of 1.5 per cent and was reduced to 1 per cent in January 2023. It applied to electronic transfers including mobile-money and bank transfers, and was designed to raise revenue from activity in Ghana's large informal sector, much of which passes through mobile-money platforms.

The levy did not meet its revenue targets.

The repeal removes a charge that had applied to mobile-money and bank transfers for almost three years.