Dr. Frank Bannor, Head of Research at the Danquah Institute, has announced that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, plans to implement a new tax regime if elected president.
According to Dr. Bannor, this new tax system aims to broaden the tax base and include more individuals in the tax bracket.
“He wants to reform the fiscal regime to avoid the current situation where a few bear the tax burden,” Dr. Bannor stated on TV3’s Key Points on August 31.
He also noted that this new regime would allow Dr. Bawumia to introduce additional policies.
In his 2024 manifesto, Dr. Bawumia has pledged to abolish the e-levy, a tax on electronic financial transactions, if he becomes President of Ghana.
The controversial e-levy, introduced in 2022, faced strong opposition from Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia before its implementation.
In an interview, Dr. Bawumia had explicitly opposed taxes on electronic financial transactions, pledging to abolish the e-levy if elected president.
He stated that eliminating the e-levy would support his vision of a Digital and Cashless Ghana.
“To advance towards a cashless economy, we must encourage the use of electronic payment channels.
To facilitate this, there will be no taxes on digital payments under my administration.
The e-levy will be abolished,” he declared at the UPSA auditorium on February 7.
Dr. Bawumia also announced plans to abolish other taxes as part of his new tax regime, including the emission tax, the tax on betting, and a proposed 15% VAT on electricity tariffs, if it exists by January 2025.
Additionally, he proposed introducing a flat tax regime that he believes will benefit individuals and businesses, especially small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).
“My administration will introduce a very simple, citizen and business-friendly flat tax regime.
A flat tax of a percentage of income for individuals and SMEs, which constitute 98% of all businesses in Ghana, with appropriate exemption thresholds set to protect the poor,” Dr. Bawumia indicated.
