Economics professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin has commended the government’s decision to scrap the Electronic Levy (E-Levy), calling it a necessary step to fix a “poorly designed” and “backward” policy.
“We’ve heard from stakeholders and vendors, and I think Ghana is waking up,” he said. “I congratulate the government for taking that decision.”
The E-Levy, introduced as a revenue mobilisation measure, faced widespread criticism for discouraging financial inclusion and adding an unnecessary burden on taxpayers.
Prof. Bokpin argued that the policy failed on multiple levels, from high compliance costs to economic inefficiencies.
“For the last two and a half years, businesses had to constantly reconfigure their systems just to stay tax compliant. The costs to banks, financial institutions, and manufacturers were enormous,” he explained.
He further criticised the policy for lacking thorough scrutiny before implementation.
“I’m not sure the tax policy unit at the Ministry of Finance subjected this to critical and sensitivity analysis. If a policy is more emotionally driven than evidence-based, the results will show—this was poorly designed.”
Prof. Bokpin also questioned the logic of taxing already-taxed income.
“You pay income tax, then send money to your wife, and you’re taxed again. I don’t want to call it evil, but it was backward,” he remarked.
He expressed optimism that removing the levy would boost mobile money usage and financial inclusion.
“With MoMo uptake rising again, we have a direct path to formalising the informal economy and expanding financial access,” he noted.
According to him, taxing digital transactions contradicted economic principles.
“Financial inclusion drives consumption and economic growth. You don’t impose a tax along that path if you understand its role in development.”
Ultimately, he said, the tax’s failure was clear from the revenue shortfall compared to projections.
“The numbers don’t lie—this policy didn’t work. But this reversal is an opportunity to rethink tax policy and get it right.”