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Ghana Passes Key Tax Law Needed for Budget Target; Bonds Rally

  • Finance minister reduced proposed levy to 1.5% from 1.75%
  • Investors worried about Ghana’s ability to meet fiscal targets
Ken Ofori-Atta

Ken Ofori-Atta

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Ghanaian lawmakers approved a tax on electronic payments, a key piece of legislation needed by the government to reduce its budget deficit this year. The West African nation’s dollar bonds rallied.

The so-called e-levy, first proposed by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in November, was passed after he cut it to 1.5% from 1.75%. Minority legislators who had opposed the tax staged a walkout while it was being debated in parliament Tuesday in the capital, Accra.