The Finance Ministry has disclosed that government will not terminate the 1.5% levy on electronic transactions, despite its application to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic assistance.
This was contained in a statement from the Ministry on Tuesday, addressing key questions regarding government’s ongoing engagement with the Fund.
Regarding the controversial levy, the Ministry explained that government will add the proceeds from the levy to the support from the IMF in order to shore up the country’s economic fortunes.
Addressing the question of whether the levy will be scrapped or not the Ministry said, “NO. The IMF lending to Ghana will be for balance of payments support (i.e. to shore up the international reserves).
“Government is committed to ensuring the smooth operationalisation of all taxes including the e-levy to ensure that in addition to the IMF’s resources, government can continue to support its developmental goals on its own while ensuring that tax-to-GPD ratio increases to the peer range of 16%-18%.”
It continued: “An IMF-supported programme is likely to encourage the government to investigate the factors hindering the success of the e-levy (including by providing technical assistance if needed) and come out with strategies to improve it”.
The Finance Ministry also noted that additionally, other tax measures could be considered for the medium-term.
By this information, Ghanaians will continue to pay the levy, despite the widespread public angst against the policy.
Below is the full statement:
