Scrapping of E-Levy: We live to see if Mahama's government will stand by their word - Kofi Bentil

Kofi Bentil, a Vice President of the policy think tank IMANI Africa, has described the E-Levy as the most hated tax he has ever encountered.

The E-Levy is a tax imposed on all electronic money transfers, except those explicitly excluded by law.

The Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075) and the Electronic Transfer Levy (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act 1089) impose a 1% levy on electronic transfers, which is charged to the transferor at the time of transfer. The levy is collected by the entities listed in the First Schedule of the Act.

Since its introduction by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government, the tax has been met with widespread criticism, with many Ghanaians strongly opposing it.

The E-Levy became a key issue in the 2024 elections, with two of the major political parties pledging to scrap it if elected.

Addressing the issue, Kofi Bentil noted that the tax remains the most unpopular in the country’s history. Following the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s victory in the 2024 elections, he expressed hope that the party would fulfill its promise to abolish the levy.

In a post shared on social media, he wrote, “E-Levy is the most hated tax I’ve ever seen!! All candidates pledged to abolish it. We live to see who stands by their word!!”