The development economist and senior research fellow at the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy Frank Bannor has refuted claims by the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, to the effect that the removal of the Electronic Transfer Levy, commonly called the E-Levy, did not weaken revenue mobilisation.
Expressing his views on the remarks by the Finance Minister, the GIMPA economist said that Forson’s claim is not supported by the observable facts.
Dr Bannor said that although the E-Levy was scrapped, several other taxes were introduced to fill in the vacuum created by the removal of the electronic levy.
“This is factually misleading because the NDC government after abolishing E-levy, increased the Growth and Sustainability Levy from 1% to 3% on the gross production of mining companies,” he wrote on Facebook.
“At the same time, the NDC has introduced GHC1 levy on every litre of fuel purchased under the Energy Sector Amendment Act 1141,” Dr Bannor said.
“In addition, GRA announced a 15% VAT on non-life insurance premiums which was effective July 2025! All these are meant to fill the fiscal loophole created by the abolishment of the E-levy!”
Reading the Budget and Economic Statement for the 2026 calendar year, the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, announced that the government’s decision to abolish the E-Levy had yielded dividends because it did not lead to a weakening of revenue mobilisation, a position that Dr Bannor has disputed with facts.
Source: asaaseradio.com
