Ghanaians urged to support gov’t by paying covid-19 health recovery levy despite end of pandemic

Despite the pandemic being over, President Nana Akufo-Addo has pleaded with Ghanaians to continue paying the Covid-19 levy.

The COVID Health Recovery Levy, which was established to help close some budget gaps, might not be the most popular tax, but I implore all of you to bear with us, the president stated in his final Covid report on Sunday, May 28, 2023.

On March 32, 2021, the Act was ratified by the president after being approved by the legislature.

The special charge was imposed by law on imports, exports, and the provision of goods and services in order to generate funds for Covid-19 expenditures and related expenses.

According to financial information made public by the Ministry of Finance on April 22, 2022, the levy accrued GH773.93 million in the first eight months after going into effect.

It fell short of the budget goal of GH889.07 million by 12.7%. More than GH2.8 billion was spent on Covid-19 and related issues in 2021.

The Covid Trust Fund has provided a “invaluable service,” but once the pandemic ended, the president stated that it “has reached the end of its mandate.”

The president expressed gratitude, saying, “I thank the trustees as well as all donors and contributors to the fund.”

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com