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Showing 25-36 of 36 Blogs
woman at a mobile money street stall in Tanzania
October 2022|
Blog

Tanzania to waive electronic money transfer levy, except on mobile money?

by Hannelore Niesten

From 1st October 2022 Tanzania eliminated the levies on certain electronic money transfers, but not on mobile money….
Mobile money agent in Zanzibar, Tanzania
October 2022|
Blog

African governments hope digital taxes will fill a budget hole

Republished from The Economist with permission. The digital economy is bringing Africans together. The same cannot…
Red vodafone mobile money kiosk in Ghana
October 2022|
Blog

New data on the e-levy in Ghana: Unpopular tax on mobile money transfers is hitting the poor hardest

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien, Michael Rogan & Nana Akua Anyidoho

In Ghana, the “e-levy” has been linked to the current administration’s “Ghana Beyond Aid” strategy for reducing aid dependence….
flags of East African Community countries
September 2022|
Blog

Mobile-money taxation in East Africa: Harmonisation or laissez-faire?

by Hannelore Niesten

Regional tax harmonisation is controversial, with compelling arguments for and against. Is it desirable? Or beneficial? And if so, to whom?…
elderly african woman and young black man using phone and credit card
August 2022|
Blog

Ghana’s new e-levy: The sour, sweet and switches so far

by Fabrizio Santoro, Mary Abounabhan & Awa Diouf

Introduced in May 2022, Ghana’s e-levy is a 1.5 per cent tax on the transfer amount of electronic transactions. The objective is to improve tax revenues by tapping into fast-growing digital financial services (DFS). However, many exemptions are applied to the tax design….
NextBillion EGM
August 2022|
Blog

To tax or not to tax mobile money? The impact on digital financial services in Africa and beyond

by Adrienne Lees & Philip Mader

“Designing better tax policies for DFS requires understanding the factors that enable using DFS, and its potential impacts” writes Adrienne Lees & Philip Mader in their first blog for the ICTD….
June 2022|
Blog

How will the E-levy impact the informal sector in Ghana?

by Rhiannon McCluskey & Philipa Birago Akuoko

The Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy), a 1.5% tax on all electronic transactions, went into effect on the 1st of May amongst considerable uncertainty and controversy….
June 2022|
Blog

Taxes as collateral: to risk or de-risk?

by Martin Hearson & Mary Abounabhan

Ghana’s Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), set into implementation on the 1st of May, has been met with heated public criticism….
mobile money kiosk in rural ghana
April 2022|
Blog

Uncertainty still dogs Ghana’s Electronic Transfer Levy

by Christopher Wales & Hannelore Niesten

Can Ghana’s Electronic Transfer Levy be implemented legally on the 1st of May? And beyond that, how will it work?…
Picture of Accra Ghana
December 2021|
Blog

Implementing a systems approach for effective property taxation in Ghana

by Peter Jongkind

Ghanaian local governments – metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) – face several challenges preventing them…
Hands typing on keyboard
April 2021|
Blog

Digitising taxation in Nigeria: Challenges and recommendations

by Abimbola AbdurRahman Lekki

In 2016, Nigeria’s Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council recognised that Nigeria should not be left behind…
The unintended consequences of taxing mobile money transactions
July 2020|
Blog

The unintended consequences of taxing mobile money transactions

by Killian Clifford

Mobile money taxation is, for some, a controversial topic. One the one hand, it is critical…