Ghana’s tax authorities have eased the minds of Ghanaians by revealing that the abolishment of the COVID-19 levy, which will cause a shortfall in revenue, will not be replaced by a new tax.
Speaking on a panel discussion at the 2026 PwC Ghana Post Budget Forum held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Mr. Anthony Sarpong, Acting Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and Mr. Samuel Arkhurst, Coordinating Director, Ministry of Finance, gave clarity to the 2026 Budget announcement of the abolishment of the COVID-19 levy.
According to the two lead tax authorities in Ghana, the government has put in place measures ahead of the COVID-19 levy abolishment to ensure that no new tax will be introduced.
“But you also notice that government policy has been deliberate. And to say that we are not introducing new taxes and at the same time taxes that businesses and individuals believe must go off are going. So, we know rightly from the beginning of 2025, some taxes have been abolished.”
Mr. Anthony Sarpong
The Ministry of Finance is responsible for formulating tax policy, legislation, and oversight, while the Ghana Revenue Authority is the official tax authority responsible for administering tax laws and collecting revenue (implementation).
The COVID-19 Levy
The 1% COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy was projected to generate about GH₵ 3.97 billion in projections for 2025, and GH₵ 3.7 billion in revenue in 2026. Introduced and implemented in 2021, it was intended to be a temporary fund for pandemic-related expenditures.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, announced in the 2026 Budget, read in November, of its abolition as part of broader VAT reforms. The government aims to relieve the economic pressure on individuals and businesses in Ghana, implying that the estimated GH₵ 3.7 billion goes back into the pockets of individuals and businesses in 2026 to kindle economic growth.
The COVID-19 levy remains in effect until the law to repeal it is formally passed by Parliament, which is expected by the end of 2025.
Making Up for the Shortfall in Revenue
Mr. Anthony Sarpong reminded Ghanaians that the government has already abolished the E-levy, the 10% betting tax, the Emissions Levy, the 1.5% withholding tax on unprocessed gold by small-scale miners, and the 10% withholding tax on lottery winnings.
He mentioned that “there are certain measures that if we take today or from 2026, they are going to just ensure that the revenues will come in.”
He outlined that one of the things the government is doing to offset the revenue shortfall is increasing the leverage of compliance. “We [authorities] believe that if we do compliance, a lot more will come,” he said, adding that “currently, we [authorities] have started compliance on certain sectors.” He explained that the tax authorities have done compliance work on the steel industry (over 100 steel companies) and their manufacturers.
The government will also engage professional firms to increase the scope of compliance audits that will take place from 2026, he mentioned. He also said that the current GRA audit team is not enough to cover the intended scope. The government will engage accounting firms like PwC to expand coverage. He revealed that according to OECD statistics, increased compliance will increase revenue between 15% to 20%.
According to Mr. Sarpong, the GRA will implement the Fiscal Electronic Devices Act, which has been in the law since 2018. He added that “for every retailer of every issuance of VAT, the law mandates that we invest in technology so that these VATs are collected electronically.” This installed system will police retailers and provide a mirror copy of the transactions to GRA. Then the system will also be controlled to ensure taxes move straight to the government account.
Mr. Sarpong also revealed that the government intends to widen the tax net to include the informal sector.
“And we’re focusing on calling it the modified taxation scheme. This scheme says that if your income is up to 500,000, that is half a million, the income tax you pay is 3%. So, if you take a trader whose income is 200,000, then we’re saying your income tax for the whole year is 6,000. If you take a trader whose income is 25,000, say what you are paying, 750 Ghana cedis.”
Mr. Anthony Sarpong
He also mentioned that “GRA has developed an app, and we are going to work with agents for the various constituencies and business associations. You register, you pay on the app, and you can get your receipt and your tax clearance certificate on the same app.”
Mr. Samuel Arkhurst added that the revenue measures of the 2025 Budget took place not from January to the end of the year, but from mid-year. Therefore, in doing revenue calculation and forecasting, the 2025 revenue measures themselves will “bring a buoyancy to the tax.”
“And as my colleague had mentioned, the static figure was what he showed. The reduction in the cost of doing business [from current economic growth and stability] would increase capacity utilization in the industry, in the private sector.
“This will be implied in terms of shoring up revenue, not in the short term but long term. Because the evidence also shows that the government can’t tax 50% and get 50% growth in revenue, but sometimes compliance is the key.”
Mr. Samuel Arkhurst
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