Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced the abolition of the Covid-19 Health Recovery Levy in the 2026 Budget, a move aimed at reducing the tax burden on both businesses and individuals.
He announced this while presenting the budget to Parliament on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
Dr. Forson stated, “With the support of this House, I am happy to announce today that it is abolished!”
He emphasized that the move would return GH¢3.7 billion to Ghanaians in 2026 alone.
The Finance Minister also outlined broader VAT reforms designed to ease the cost of doing business and improve tax efficiency.
“The new VAT reforms will abolish the decoupling of the GETFund and NHIL levies from the VAT tax base, allowing both levies to be subject to input tax deductions; abolish VAT on reconnaissance and prospecting of minerals; reduce the effective VAT rate from 21.9% to 20%; raise the VAT registration threshold from GH¢200,000 to GH¢750,000; and extend the VAT zero-rating on the supply of locally manufactured textiles to 2028,” Dr. Forson explained.
“These reforms will also reduce the cost of doing business by 5% as result of subjecting the GETFund and NHIL levies to input-output deductibility,” he added, highlighting the government’s commitment to creating a more business-friendly environment.
Dr. Forson’s announcement, he said, forms part of the 2026 Budget’s broader agenda to stimulate growth, support job creation, and improve revenue mobilization while easing financial pressures on citizens and enterprises.
