Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Minister of Finance
The government’s first budget presentation has sparked several reactions from both citizens and economic experts.
Many believe that the government is on course to make life more bearable for the ordinary Ghanaian.
The 2025 budget, titled the Asempa Budget, was presented by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, under the theme; ‘Resetting Ghana.’
One of the most widely applauded moves has been cancelling what the government termed nuisance taxes.
These include the abolishment of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), Value Added Tax (VAT) on motor vehicle insurance, the betting tax, the COVID-19 levy, and the withholding tax on mining.
The Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, described the budget as humane, commending the government for its decision to reduce the tax refund to compensate for the revenue lost through the elimination of these taxes.
He also expressed his admiration for the Finance Minister.
On his X page, he wrote, “Smart Finance Minister. Reducing tax refund to take care of eliminated taxes?”
Economist Theo Acheampong also praised the budget, highlighting its role in sustaining Ghana’s economic recovery.
He shared on X, “A good 2025 budget reading. Sets a clear tone for sustaining Ghana’s economic recovery.”
The Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, reacted with a brief but pointed remark, “E-Levy, Betting Tax, Hazy Emissions Tax… YAMUTU!” (suggesting the taxes are now history).
He further noted, “Our substantive take on cutting the nuisance taxes to boost business confidence. Long story short: the government can make up for all the lost revenue with better tax design.”
Beyond economists, social media users have also commended the government for various provisions in the budget, including allocating funds for providing sanitary pads to primary school children.
See the posts below
E-Levy
Betting Tax
Hazy Emissions Tax…YAMUTU! pic.twitter.com/mURrEPdgyh
— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) March 11, 2025
A good 2025 budget reading. Sets a clear tone for sustaining Ghana’s economic recovery. We’ll unpack the details soon. 🇬🇭🇬🇭🇬🇭
— Theo Acheampong, PhD (@mytheoz) March 11, 2025
Just so you know, the COVID-19 levy will be taken care of/abolished as part of the VAT reforms. There shouldn’t be confusion about this—-the propaganda should be quashed ASAP. Ghana’s effective VAT rate is about 22 per cent. This is because GETFund Levy of 2.5 per cent,…
— Theo Acheampong, PhD (@mytheoz) March 11, 2025
SSD/MA
Decoding Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s ‘Made-in-Ghana’ bag that carried the 2025 budget