Survey of the Ghanaian Tax System

Ghana’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has published an updated Survey of the Ghanaian Tax System, produced jointly with TaxDev researchers from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (UK). This Survey, which provides information on Ghana’s tax system as of the start of 2024, is intended as a repository of key information for researchers, policymakers and the public, and updates a previous edition of the Survey published in 2021. As well as setting out the key design features for the different taxes in operation in Ghana, it also looks at recent trends in policy, administration and revenues, and compares key information on tax rates and revenues with other countries.

Some of the key findings of the report include:

• At 13.8% in 2022, Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains below the government’s target of 18-20% by 2027. Though this ratio is almost 6 percentage points higher than in 2000, it continues to fluctuate and has made minimal gains since 2017.

   

• Much of the growth in Ghana’s tax revenues since 2000 has come from increased corporate and personal income tax take, and VAT and similar taxes, though revenue growth from the latter two has stagnated more recently. These taxes made up over 70% of total collections in 2022 – up from 57% in 2000.

   

• Tax collections from international trade have become far less important in the revenue mix, though they remain significant: 33% of overall tax revenues were collected on imported goods in 2022 (including VAT on imported products), compared with 54% in 2000. The contribution of import duties specifically to total tax revenue declined from 18% in 2000 to 13% in 2022.

   

• Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio is fairly typical of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. However, considering countries of a similar income level across the world, Ghana’s tax revenue collections are slightly below average: out of 28 lower middle-income countries with available data, Ghana ranked 16th in 2022.

   

• Analysis of tax rates and revenues across countries suggests differences in relative revenue mobilisation by tax type in Ghana. While recent growth in corporate income tax revenues means that they exceed revenues in other countries using similar tax rates, personal income tax and general sales tax revenues are lower than would be expected, all else being equal.

TaxDev researchers worked closely with MoF officials on underlying analysis and the write-up of the Survey. The aim is that in future, MoF officials will progressively take full responsibility for updating this useful resource.