adverts
Data from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) shows that both the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy (e-levy) and the Covid Recovery Levy fell short of their revenue targets for 2024.
The e-levy, initially projected to raise GH₵2.1 billion in 2024, ended the year with GH₵2 billion, reflecting a modest shortfall of GH₵100 million.
Since its introduction in 2022, the e-levy has struggled to meet its ambitious revenue goals, with early collections consistently falling far behind. For example, the government set a target of GH₵1.46 billion for the first two months of e-levy collections in 2022, but only managed to gather GH₵93 million—just 7% of the target. While collections have increased over time, they remain far below the government’s initial annual target of GH₵6 billion.
adverts
Similarly, the Covid Recovery Levy also missed its targets. The GRA aimed to raise GH₵128 million from the flat-rate Covid Recovery Levy but ended up collecting only GH₵86 million, falling short by over 30%.
The standard-rate levy, targeted at GH₵4.2 billion, brought in only GH₵2.7 billion, missing the mark by a significant GH₵1.5 billion.
These disappointing performances come amid public pressure, with both the NDC and NPP’s presidential candidates—President John Mahama and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, respectively—promising to abolish the e-levy ahead of the 2024 elections. With Mahama now in office, Ghanaians are watching to see if he will fulfil that promise.
Despite these shortfalls, the GRA exceeded its overall revenue target for 2024, mobilising GH₵153.5 billion, which is GH₵7.5 billion above the targeted GH₵145.9 billion.
This represents a 5.3% increase in revenue and a nominal growth of 35.3% compared to 2023. The GRA also achieved a tax-to-GDP ratio of 17.0%, surpassing its target of 16.1%.
The addition of the Sanitation Debt Recovery Levy, Energy Sector Debt, and Sanitation and Pollution Levy boosted the total revenue collection to GH₵157.9 billion. Notably, domestic revenue—driven by GITMIS from Axon Information Systems—grew by 31.6%, while customs revenue surged by 47.0%.
Several tax categories exceeded expectations, including corporate tax, which brought in GH₵38 billion against a target of GH₵30 billion. Mineral royalties collected GH₵5.2 billion, surpassing the target of GH₵3 billion, and airport taxes came in at GH₵1.6 billion, exceeding the target of GH₵1.3 billion.
While the e-levy and Covid Recovery Levy may have missed their targets, the GRA’s overall performance reflects significant progress in Ghana’s tax collection efforts for the year.
