CSOs call for repeal of Covid levy in 2024 budget statement

The CSOs Budget Forum has called for the repeal of the COVID-19 levy in the upcoming 2024 budget statement.

The call for the repeal of the Covid levy forms part of the CSOs Budget Forum’s collated revenue measures submitted to the Finance Ministry for consideration in the 2024 budget.

Other revenue measures submitted for consideration in the budget include; aggressive high net worth taxation, e-commerce taxation (Rec. DST 3-6%), double-up on property taxation, BoG financing government especially in election year, personal income tax allowance must be increased from GHC402 to GHC 900, quarterly cost-benefit analysis of tax exemptions, establish an Independent Fiscal Council, National Debt Accounting Standardization, expenditure cuts in size of government, flagship programs, streamline emoluments, suspension of ex-gratia and import substitution.

The CSOs Budget Forum’s collated inputs for the 2024 Budget focus on the thematic areas of Macro-fiscal (Revenue and Expenditure measures); Extractives and Energy; Social Spending (Health and Education) and Agriculture (Food Security).

Introduced by the Government during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, the 1% levy was designed to provide crucial financial support for combating the virus and its consequences.

Aside the CSOs Budget Forum, the business community has also called for the removal of the Covid levy.

Meanwhile, renowned tax expert and consultant, Abdallah Ali-Nakyea, has expressed his opposition to any efforts aimed at scrapping the COVID-19 Levy, even in the face of the pandemic no longer posing a global health threat.

Dr Ali-Nakyea put forth a compelling proposal stating that instead of eliminating the levy, the Government should consider renaming it to better address the pressing challenges in the healthcare sector. He emphasized the importance of retaining the revenue stream and directing it towards healthcare solutions.

“I have always held that it is not a tax I wish should be scrapped. The reason is that, when the government came into power, we all celebrated the scrapping of 16 tax types. Today, imagine the number of taxes coming back. So, it shows it wasn’t the right approach in the first place. We could have scrapped two, the following year two, gradually, and we would have been able to find other means,” he remarked.

He further underscored the need for a sustainable approach, suggesting that if the COVID-19 Levy were to be scrapped, it could lead to a situation where new levies, like a “dialysis levy,” might need to be introduced to address the myriad challenges faced by healthcare institutions such as the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Dr Ali-Nakyea posited that the challenge might lie in the name given to the levy, which was originally intended to address COVID-19-related issues. He stressed the importance of channeling any revenue generated from such levies into solving the significant problems within the healthcare sector.