Mobile money operators have agreed to reduce their charges on transactions by 25% amid the possible introduction of e-Levy.
According to the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GTC), the decision was taken following extensive deliberations with the government on the need to lessen the impact of the new tax on consumers.
In a statement, GTC noted that it acknowledges the need to expand the tax base. However, to reduce the overall impact of the new levy on consumers, MTN and AirtelTigo have agreed to a downward revision of their person to person transfer P2P fees, by up to 25% depending on the respective operator.
Vodafone currently has no charges. The GTC added that each mobile money operator will notify their customers of the applicable revised rate when the e-levy bill is passed into law.
Government has proposed to charge 1.75% Levy on electronic financial transactions.
The Levy will exempt daily transactions of a cumulative value of GHC 100 less, per person.
In the Budget, the recommended date for the Levy is January 1, 2022.
According to the Budget, up to 0.25% points of the 1.5% e-transaction Levy or 16.7% of the proceeds from the Levy, should be used to support road infrastructure development. 10% of the 0.25 ten percentage points which is 1.67% of the yield from the Levy, will be dedicated to the improvement in public transportation, including the purchase of buses.
The Levy has sparked controversy because of its impact on mobile money transactions and poor Ghanaians that use it.
The Minority in Parliament has been resisting the Levy ahead of the debate on the Bill in Parliament.
The government has said its analysis showed that the Levy will not affect 40 % of Ghanaians.