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0 The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson on Thursday, March 13, presented eight bills to Parliament aimed at abolishing several taxes, including the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), the betting tax, amongst others.
The bills also seek to uncap statutory funds such as the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) and the GETFund levy.
These proposed tax repeals and amendments align with the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) manifesto pledge to ease the financial burden on Ghanaians.
The proposed bills include Electronic Transfer Levy (Repeal) Bill, 2025, Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Revenue Administration (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Special Import Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Emissions Levy (Repeal) Bill, 2025, Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
This move follows the Finance Minister’s announcement during the presentation of the government’s first budget statement on March 11, 2025.
In addition to scrapping the E-Levy and betting tax, the government has also proposed abolishing the Emissions Tax and making amendments to other levies that have been deemed excessive.
Speaking on JoyNews PM Express on Tuesday, March 11, Dr Forson stated that he expects Parliament to consider the bills under a certificate of urgency to ensure their swift passage.
He expressed confidence that the process would be smooth due to the simplicity of the repeals, adding that each of the taxes to be scrapped only requires a single clause in the legislative process.
“Repealing these taxes will be straightforward. Each repeal is just a single clause. Removing the betting tax, the E-Levy, and others will be a simple process,” he assured.
He further stated that as revenue-related bills, they qualify to be presented under a certificate of urgency, which allows for expedited consideration.
Dr Forson also assured that once Parliament passes the bills, President John Dramani Mahama will sign them into law immediately, marking a significant step in fulfilling the government’s promise to alleviate the tax burden on citizens.
