President John Dramani Mahama has signed the COVID Health Recovery Levy Repeal Act, formally abolishing the one percent levy that has been charged on VAT since the end of the 2020 pandemic.

Describing the moment as “promise made, promise delivered,” President Mahama said the repeal fulfilled a major commitment he made to Ghanaians during his election campaign.

He noted that although the previous administration had introduced free water, free electricity, free food and other interventions during the COVID-19 crisis, it later imposed a 1% levy to supposedly recover pandemic-related expenditures. This, he said, came as a shock to many Ghanaians, especially as the pandemic had ended and the election period had passed.

Ghana remained one of the few countries still taxing citizens for a pandemic that was long over, the president added.

He emphasised that many Ghanaians had been opposed to the levy from the very beginning, making today’s repeal widely welcomed.

President Mahama signed the Repeal Act on December 10, 2025, and said he will subsequently present it to the Clerk of Parliament.