Government to replace E-levy revenue gap with tax refunds and gold sector earnings - Deputy Finance Minister

The government says it will use funds from unused tax refund allocations and increased gold mining levies to compensate for the revenue lost from the repeal of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy).

Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem, disclosed this in an interview with JoyNews on Wednesday, March 26 2025.

According to him, a review of the tax refund account covering the past eight years showed that only 43 percent of the funds were used for actual refunds, while the remaining 57 percent had been misapplied.

“We have taken a firm decision to stop that and redirect those resources into the Consolidated Fund, where they can be properly allocated to support the country’s needs,” Mr Ampem said.

He estimated that more than GH¢3.88 billion could be realised from that source alone.

Mr Ampem also indicated that the government had extended the sunset clause of the Growth and Sustainability Levy to 2028.

The levy on gold mining companies has also been increased from 1 percent to 3 percent, based on what he described as strong profits in the sector due to high global gold prices.

“If we don’t raise revenue from the sector making profit, which one do we tax?” he asked. “Certainly not the cocoa sector, which is already struggling. That would only worsen the situation for cocoa farmers.”

Touching on broader concerns about the tax burden, Mr Ampem said the government was trying not to add further pressure on ordinary Ghanaians.

He pointed to the removal of the emissions levy and the 1.5 percent withholding tax on small-scale miners as part of efforts to relieve low-income groups.

He added that scrapping the withholding tax on small-scale mining was also intended to encourage legal gold sales through the Ghana Gold Board, an approach the government believes could help increase foreign exchange inflows.