Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Finance Minister-designate, has reaffirmed his commitment to immediately remove the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) after a thorough evaluation.

During his vetting with the Appointments Committee of Parliament on January 13, Dr. Forson emphasized his approach to the controversial tax.

"Why is it always revenue and not expenditure? I think you have a choice of both. Remove the e-levy and replace it or remove e-levy, don't replace and cut corresponding expenditure. The option is on the table," he stated.

Forson further assured that his stance on the E-Levy remains unchanged, saying, "As minister, I will consider the e-levy holistically and the fact that it is going and assess its impact and assess it appropriately but my commitment won't change. E-levy has to go and it will go immediately."

Despite Forson’s assurances, some tax analysts have raised concerns about the potential economic consequences of abolishing the E-Levy without adequate replacements. Tax consultant Francis Timore Boi warned that removing both the E-Levy and the COVID-19 Levy, which are projected to generate GHC7.7 billion in 2025, could undermine the government’s IMF-backed fiscal strategy.

"If any policy you seek to introduce may bring down revenue, the IMF may not be happy with that," Boi cautioned. "You are planning to abolish the COVID-19 levy and the E-Levy. COVID-19 levy alone in 2025 is estimated to bring in about GHC5.6 billion. If you take it off, how are you going to replace it? In 2025, we are expecting E-Levy to give us about GHC2.1 billion and in 2026, it is projected to increase to about GHC2.4 billion."

Political Scientist Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante also advised caution, recommending that the government consider a phased reduction of the E-Levy rather than its outright removal.