E-levy: Minority forces gov’t to backtrack on threshold

The Minority in Parliament has pushed the government to back down on the proposed removal of the GH¢100 threshold on the Electronic Transaction levy (E-levy).

Government in the 2023 Budget to Parliament in November, proposed to remove the GH¢100 threshold for Mobile money transactions while the percentage of collection of the levy on every transaction will be reduced from 1.5 to 1 percent.

The Minority Group in Parliament, however, vehemently rejected the proposed removal of the threshold and cited policy inconsistency and economic hardship as well as the abysmal performance of the levy in the 2022 Fiscal year as some of the reasons why the Government’s proposal is untenable and the side will not support the amendment.

However, on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, the government beat a hasty retreat after it sensed the insistence of the Minority Group not to backdown on its demands not to support the Bill if the threshold is not removed.

Government subsequently acquiesced to the Minority demand and reinstated the GH¢100 threshold after which the 1% E-levy will apply.

E-levy