The Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Prof. Isaac Boadi, has welcomed the government’s decision to scrap the COVID-19 levy but warned that the move leaves a significant revenue hole that must be addressed.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show on Friday, November 14, Prof. Boadi said the removal of the levy brings relief to both businesses and individuals, even as he questioned how the state intends to fill the funding gap.
His comments follow the announcement by the Finance Minister during the presentation of the 2026 Budget on Thursday, November 13.
“The 2025 budget focused on consolidation and recovery, but the 2026 budget is looking more toward expansion,” he noted.
Prof. Boadi described the abolition of the levy as positive news for taxpayers. “It is always good when a government wants to say, ‘I want to take tax off your shoulders.’ Businesses will be happy, and ordinary persons will be happy.”
He recalled that scrapping the levy was a key promise of the NDC. “This was a key promise: that in 21 days they were going to scrap levies and taxes. Indeed, they have removed most of them. They were left with, I think, this (COVID levy).”
He added that public pressure for the levy’s removal had been persistent. “This was all over: ‘Government, take away the COVID tax from our shoulders for us to move on.’ Finally, it’s been removed, and a bill will be passed. I’m sure we have about 10 or so bills,” he said, noting that some tax amendments will be sent to Parliament, including one addressing the COVID levy.
Explaining the expected impact, Prof. Boadi said the removal sends “a good signal to the ordinary Ghanaian” and to the business community. “If you are a businessperson and you hear this story, you know that at least you’ve got some money in your pocket, into your business, because you are not going to pay that money to the government again.”
He added that the change will directly influence business operations. “In terms of your production, you are likely to have a reduction in what you do. The businesses that you run will obviously be affected, and that would form part of your profit and loss, your comprehensive income statement. So, there will obviously be an impact in terms of growth. It’s welcome news, and any day, everybody, business people will love to hear this story.”
However, Prof. Boadi cautioned that the government must explain how it intends to replace the revenue lost from the levy. “It appears the administration, once in a while, tries to take care of the promises made, going after them one by one. But let’s flip the discussion… whenever you take off a revenue item from what you want to, it will have an implication.”
“So I was looking at ways of this administration getting revenue or funds to support what is going to be taken away, because if he scraps COVID, about 3.7 billion, how is the government going to shoulder or take care of our expenditure?” he asked.
The scrapping of the COVID-19 Levy forms part of broader VAT reforms expected to rationalise the tax system and ease the burden on businesses and consumers. Overall, the reforms are projected to deliver GH₵5.7 billion in savings to the private sector and households.
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