In order to accept the controversial E-Levy established in the 2022 budget, telecommunications companies in the country have agreed to a 25% reduction in mobile money transactions.
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“We have had extensive deliberation with the government on the need to lessen the impact on our consumers. We acknowledge 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 the downward revision of their P2P (person to person transfer) fees by up to 25% depending on the respective operator. Vodafone currently has no charges,” the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GTC) said in a statement Friday evening.
“When the e-levy bill is signed into law, each operator will notify its consumers of the applicable amended tariff,” the statement said.
This means that even if the government succeeds in getting the planned 1.75 per cent levy on electronic cash transactions passed, customers will pay significantly less than they would otherwise.
The planned levy is a 1.75 per cent charge on the value of electronic transactions, and it is set to take effect on February 1, 2022. It includes payments made with mobile money, bank transfers, merchant payments, and inward remittances. Except for inward remittances, which will be borne by the recipient, the charge will be borne by the transaction’s originator. For transactions up to GH100 ($16) every day, there is an exception.
