Here are the five items E-levy would cover

Momo transactions to be affected by e-levy Momo transactions to be affected by e-levy

Payment of fees and taxes would not be taxed, Ofori-Atta

Transfer between accounts owned by the same person exempted from e-levy, Ofori-Atta

E-levy to be sent to parliament again, Finance minister

As part of efforts to widen the tax bracket and raise more revenue, government, in its 2022 budget statement, announced the introduction of the Electronic Transactions Levy also known as the E-Levy.

The finance minister, during the 2022 budget presentation in November 2021, said the e-levy would be a 1.75 percent charge on cumulative electronic transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments and inward remittances that exceeds GH¢100 in a day.

He further stated that the 1.75 percent charge would be borne by senders except for monies received from abroad.

However, the announcement of the levy created a divide among the citizenry as well as members of parliament.

A bill to pass the E-levy into a tax was then sent to parliament following the impasse but the minority caucus of the House rejected it.

At a press briefing in Accra on January 19, 2021, Ken Ofori-Atta indicated that he would once again send the bill to parliament for approval. GhanaWeb looks at the five items the minister indicated the E-levy would now cover.

The first item the minister mentioned was: “mobile money transfers between accounts on the same electronic money issuer (EMI).”

In other words, if a person accumulatively sends money above GH¢100 through any of the Bank of Ghana proved EMI, let us ay Zeepay Ghana Limited to another person on Zeepay the sender would pay the 1.75 percent tax.

The second item that the e-levy covers according to Ofori-Atta are: “mobile money transfers from an account on one EMI to a recipient on another EMI.”

So, in a day, should a person using Zeepay accumulatively send funds (in excess of GH¢100) to person(s) on Vodaphone cash and/or MTN mobile money, the sender would have to pay the e-levy.

The third bracket includes “transfers from bank accounts to mobile money accounts.” Sending money from a Zenit Bank account (cumulatively in excess of GH¢100) to MTN mobile money account(s) would attract a 1.75 percent deduction.

Ofori-Atta also stated that “transfers from mobile money accounts to bank accounts” in excess of GH¢ 100 would also be taxed 1.75 percent. In order words, sending over GH¢100 from your AirtelTigo mobile money to your GCB bank account would be taxed.

The finance minister added that the levy also covers “bank transfers on a digital platform or application which originate from a bank account belonging to an individual to another individual.”

So, if you are sending money from your GCB Banking App or an Ecobank digital platform you are not safe from the tax.

The finance minister also noted that the e-levy would not impact: “transfers between accounts owned by the same person; transfers for the payment of taxes, fees, and charges on the ghana.gov platform; electronic clearing of cheques; specified merchant payments (i.e. payments to commercial establishments registered with GRA for Income Tax and VAT purposes); and transfers between principal, master-agent, and agent’s accounts.”