Ghana’s parliament house was buzzing with anticipation as the finance minister presented the nation’s highly-anticipated 2025 budget in the early hours of Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, led by President John Dramani Mahama, had made a promise to eliminate several taxes dubbed as “nuisance taxes” in their manifesto ahead of the 2024 general elections. This pledge had captured the attention of many citizens, who were eagerly awaiting Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s speech as he entered the chamber to deliver this year’s budget.
One of the most contentious taxes expected to be scrapped was the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), along with the betting tax and COVID-19 levies. As the finance minister took the stand, he made the long-awaited announcement that all these taxes would indeed be abolished by the government.
In his declaration, he stated, “Mr. Speaker, we will abolish the 10% withholding tax on winnings from lottery, otherwise known as the ‘Betting Tax’; we will abolish the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) of 1%; we will abolish the Emission Levy on industries and vehicles; we will abolish the VAT on motor vehicle insurance policy; and we will abolish the 1.5% withholding tax on winning of unprocessed gold by small-scale miners.”
Amidst the cheers and excitement in the parliament, one voice stood out, shouting, “NPP 2038, NPP 2028,” taking a dig at the opposition National Patriotic Party (NPP) and implying they would remain in opposition for years to come.
Following the announcement of the tax abolishment, the finance minister went on to explain how the government planned to compensate for the loss of revenue from these scrapped taxes. Forson emphasized that the removal of these taxes would alleviate the financial burden on households, boost disposable incomes, promote business growth, and enhance tax compliance.
Additionally, the government would be reducing the current tax refund ceiling by 2 percentage points, from 6% to 4% of Total Revenue as defined in Section 69 of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915). This adjustment is expected to save GH¢3.8 billion.
Forson highlighted that this savings would be sufficient to cover the revenue shortfall resulting from the elimination of the E-Levy, amounting to GH¢1.9 billion, and the Betting Tax, which stood at GH¢180 million.
Overall, the finance minister’s budget speech was met with a mix of excitement and cautious optimism as Ghanaians awaited the practical implications of these tax reforms on their daily lives and the country’s economic landscape.
