Title of the winning article: PERSPECTIVES OF GHANAIANS ON THE E-LEVY
Abstract
In recent years, governments in some lower income countries have increasingly introduced specific taxes on mobile money transfers as a means to raise revenue. These are often explicitly promoted as a way of taxing informal economic activities. Critics have however, noted their potential negative impact on lower income groups. In the quest to increase revenue in Ghana, the government of Ghana announced the introduction of an electronic transfer levy (E-levy) during the presentation of the 2022 budget and economic policy statement. This paper uses data from a survey of 172 Ghanaians collected in September 2022 to examine the perception of Ghanaians on the E-levy. The study found out that majority of Ghanaians think that there has been too much tax imposition on them. Pertinently, the study revealed that the rate at which Ghanaians make transactions after the introduction of the levy reduced. In addition, the study showed that majority of Ghanaians disagree to the fact that the E-levy can solve Ghana’s economic problem, and in effect, think that the levy should be halted.
Keywords: E-levy, Mobile money, Taxation, Ghana, Transaction
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