Kofi Ahovi

  Government has rejected Accra Brewery PLC’s warning that changes to Ghana’s beer excise duty regime could put up to 2,000 jobs at risk, arguing that the company has failed to substantiate its claims while the existing tax concession has cost the state about GH¢1.75 billion in foregone revenue over the past three years. Accra Brewery recently warned that the revised excise regime could increase the tax burden on locally produced beer, undermine investment and create an unintended advantage for imported beer. The company estimates the potential impact on its budget at $7.5 million and has called for the existing sliding-scale rates to be maintained for FY26 and FY27. But in a detailed rejoinder, the Ministry of Finance on Monday, August 31, 2026, said the central issue was not whether the brewing industry contributes to Ghana’s economy, but whether the tax concession is achieving the purpose for which it was introduced. The ministry said data from the Ghana Revenue Authority show t...

  Businesses in Ghana are beginning to feel a sense of relief following recent tax updates, a development that is gradually translating into reduced costs for consumers, according to Mary Kwarteng Darko, an Associate Director in PwC Ghana’s tax practice. Speaking during a UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce and PwC Ghana webinar on “Tax Updates in Ghana”, Darko noted that the changes marked a clear shift in the country’s tax regime from an aggressive stance towards a more business-friendly environment. She remarked that overall sentiment is that the country is taking a more balanced approach to taxation, shifting from a period of heavy tax imposition to one where the system is being rationalised, simplified, and made more business-friendly. She pointed to the abolition of the Emissions Levy, COVID‑19 Health Recovery Levy, and the E‑levy as particularly welcome developments. According to her, these measures directly affect pricing structures and, ultimately, the cost borne by consumers. Al...

  The Ghana Chamber of Mines has strongly rejected claims that the country’s mining sector is undertaxed, insisting instead that Ghana imposes one of the highest fiscal burdens on mining companies worldwide. In a statement issued on April 20, 2026, the Chamber said Ghana’s current mining fiscal regime results in an effective tax rate of nearly 60 percent under prevailing conditions, placing it among the most heavily taxed mining jurisdictions globally. The response follows recent assertions by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), which described Ghana’s framework as overly reliant on royalties and raised concerns about recent changes to the Growth and Sustainability Levy (GSL). However, the Chamber dismissed this characterisation, clarifying that Ghana operates a comprehensive royalty–tax regime—not a royalty-only system—with multiple layers of taxation applied across revenue, profits, and dividends. These include mineral royalties ranging between 5 and 12 percent, a 1 percen...

  By: Herman Kwame Kumatsey Across Africa, governments are increasingly turning to mobile money as a revenue lever as fiscal pressures intensify and digital transactions become more visible, yet evidence from multiple markets shows a consistent outcome: usage declines, financial inclusion weakens, and the tax base ultimately shrinks. Mobile money has expanded financial access at a scale few systems have achieved, bringing millions into the formal economy and reshaping how individuals and small businesses transact. That progress depends on consistent, everyday usage, which is highly sensitive to cost, and industry analysis shows that when the cost of transacting rises, behaviour adjusts quickly. The Same Pattern, Repeated The experience across markets follows a familiar sequence in which a tax is introduced, transaction costs increase, users adjust how they transact, and volumes decline. The expected revenue gains do not materialise at scale, which then leads to revisions or the eve...

  The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is pushing back against concerns over lost revenue following the abolition of the E-Levy, COVID-19 levy and betting tax, revealing stronger-than-expected collections in early 2026. The development challenges assumptions that removing the taxes would significantly weaken government revenue, even as pressure mounts to find new fiscal buffers. Speaking at a forum organised by the Centre for Policy Scrutiny, the Technical Advisor to the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Elsie Appau Klu, posited that while the tax removals were initially seen as a setback, the outcome has been more nuanced. She argued that “initially, like any person would think, yes, of course, abolishing these three taxes were considered as losses to government, and it puts some pressure on our staff.” But she pointed to a strong revenue rebound, stating that “this first quarter we have achieved 20% more than what we’ve collected last year… the GRA… has collected 33.7 billion Ghana c...

  Mining giant Newmont Corporation paid a total of GH₵12.822 billion in taxes and other statutory payments to the Government of Ghana in 2025, reinforcing its position as one of the country’s leading contributors to domestic revenue. The payments were made to several state institutions including the Ghana Revenue Authority , Forestry Commission , and the Ministry of Finance . According to the company, the total contribution for 2025 comprised GH₵5.382 billion in corporate tax, GH₵1.628 billion in mineral royalties, and GH₵1.832 billion in carried interest. Additional payments included GH₵3.025 billion in capital gains tax following the sale of the Akyem Mine in April 2025, GH₵514 million in Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) taxes, and GH₵434 million in withholding taxes. The company also paid GH₵15 million as forestry levy and GH₵2 million in property rates. Beyond its statutory payments, Newmont said it continues to support Ghana’s socio-economic development through investments in infrast...

 On Friday, December 19, 2025, the final sitting day before Parliament rose for the Christmas recess, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources laid before Parliament a Legislative Instrument seeking to introduce a sliding scale royalty structure for all minerals in Ghana. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources The move is mandated by the Minerals and Mining Amendment Act, Act 900 of 2015. The sliding scale was initially expected to apply only to lithium, to enable the laying of the lithium mining lease between the Government of Ghana and Atlantic Lithium through its local subsidiary, Barari DV. Instead, the ministry extended the framework to cover all minerals, with gold the most significant addition. This matters because mineral royalties are a meaningful source of government revenue. In 2024, the Finance Ministry reported GHS 5.2 billion in mineral royalties, excluding oil. Finance Ministry data also shows that from 2011 to the first seven months of...

  The Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), Abena Amoah, has reiterated calls for the removal of the capital gains tax on listed securities. Delivering an address at a ceremony to mark the10th anniversary of the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM), she described the tax as a key hindrance to investment on the financial market. According to her, restoring the tax to zero will attract more investors and deepen the market. Here, I talk for the whole industry, a review of capital gains tax on listed securities, and we want it back to zero,” she emphasised. Amoah's call forms part of four key measures outlined in her address to champion the expansion of the financial market. One of the measures was a passionate appeal to cabinet for the speedy approval of policies that will enable viable State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to raise long-term capital through the GFIM and other GSE platforms. She believes this will not only improve corporate governance but also reduce the burden on...

  The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is calling on government to abolish tax incentives and review royalty rates under Ghana’s mining and minerals laws to ensure the country derives optimal benefits from its natural resources. According to the policy think tank, Ghana’s current fiscal and legal framework governing the extractive industry remains outdated and overly generous to multinational mining firms — a situation that has perpetuated limited national gains from resource exploitation. Presenting findings at the Institute’s seminar series on reviewing Ghana’s natural resource management framework, Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, stressed that the country’s mining laws, particularly the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), require urgent reforms to reflect current realities and technical capacity. The IEA notes that despite over a century of mining activity and significant mineral endowment, the country continues to experience low returns relative to the scal...

  Beginning July 1, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) will introduce a modified tax system aimed at improving tax compliance and revenue collection from the informal sector. Under the new framework, informal sector workers not currently registered with the GRA, but earning annual sales below GHS 20,000, will be required to pay a fixed quarterly tax between GHS 25 and GHS 45. Speaking at the launch of the final report on Informal Sector Tax Compliance Research titled: “Ghana’s Untapped Economy: Analysis of Tax Compliance Behaviour of Informal Sector Workers in the Greater Accra Region” by BudgIT Ghana in partnership with Society for Women in Taxation Ghana and the International Budget Partnership (IBP), the GRA’s Assistant Commissioner for Research and Policy, Dr. Alex Kombat explained that the revised system seeks to broaden Ghana’s tax base and promote fairness in revenue mobilization. We have developed a system called modified taxation. Those with turnover below GHS 20,000 will p...

  The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has expressed readiness to cooperate with the government to address significant issues within the business community, following plans to establish a National Business Consultative Platform. President John Dramani Mahama announced the initiative, which aims to foster engagement between the government and private sector players, provide feedback on policies, and identify solutions to support business development. In an interview with Citi News, Dean of Regional Chairs of the Association of Ghana Industries, Tsonam Akpeloo said concerns about heavy taxes and difficulty securing capital should be addressed during the dialogue. We are talking about a lot of taxes, and we are asking the government to take away some of these taxes that are affecting the growth of the sector. We are also talking about access to capital, and the cost associated with accessing this capital. “These are issues that the government needs to deal with because we believe...

  The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has urged President Mahama’s new government to promptly honor its commitment to streamline Ghana’s tax system. The association believes this would provide much-needed relief to struggling businesses. Highlighting the challenges faced by manufacturers, AGI noted that growth in the sector has been stifled by tax complexities that hinder efficiency and expansion. Speaking to  Citi Business News , the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the AGI, Tsonam Akpeloo stressed that simplifying the tax process is crucial to supporting the government’s ambitious plan for a 24-hour economy. Our view is that this year should remain a year that would witness a proper cancellation of some of these nuisance taxes. And if we see that happen, you would begin to witness a situation where industry, especially the manufacturing component of industry will grow tremendously. If you observed last year, even though there appeared to be an increment in the GDP gr...

 The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has revealed that telecom companies contributed more than GH₵9.83 billion in taxes and other payments in 2023. This represents about 30 percent increase compared to the GH₵6 billion paid in 2022. The contribution, according to the chamber forms approximately 7.38 % of Ghana's 2023 total revenue. Speaking at the launch of the Transparency Initiative Report, Chief Executive Officer of the chamber, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, emphasized the industry’s commitment to driving economic growth. Telecom chambers are really contributing massively to Ghana's economy. As we can see these taxes paid to the government is a progressive tax". “If you put together the total taxes that we bear and other remittances that we made to other government agencies, the total is GH₵9.8 billion in 2023. And this contribution forms about 7.4 per cent of government total revenue”, he said. In addition to its financial contributions, the sector also provided 2,464 dire...

  Wins from lottery games, casinos and marketing promotional raffles will now attract a 10 per cent tax with effect from August 15, 2023. This means that gross winnings from all betting, gaming, lotto and other games of chance will be subjected to a 10 per cent withholding tax which will be considered as a final tax.  In addition, the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), which is the amount generated from all stakes less the winnings, will also be subjected to 20 per cent withholding tax. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is hoping to mobilise about GH¢1.2 billion in the initial stages of implementation of the taxation of lottery operators. Revenue mobilisation from the taxes is expected to increase to about GH¢3 billion after the initial stages. The latest development follows the passage of the Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1094), which subjects all lottery wins to the withholding tax, to be deducted by the lottery operators and paid to the GRA.  In line with the law, the...

  Newmont Africa has paid GH¢ 843.72 million in taxes, royalties, and levies to government from its first quarter of 2023, operations in Ghana (Ahafo South and Akyem Mines). The payment made through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Forestry Commission, and Ministry of Finance, comprises a Corporate Tax of GH¢514.57 million, Mineral Royalties of GH¢197.06 million, GH¢ 78.23 as Pay As You Earn (PAYE), GH¢ 42.31 as Withholding Tax and GH¢11.55 million as Forestry Levy. In his comments after the payment, the Regional Senior Vice President, Newmont Africa, Operations, David Thornton, said “Fulfilling our obligations in terms of statutory payments, and being transparent about what we pay, are in line with our commitment to regulatory compliance and good corporate governance”. He said Newmont Africa’s operations in Ghana had a strong tax compliance history and received multiple taxpayer recognitions from the GRA. It is important, especially in these challenging times, for companies to h...

  Six business operators, including two Chinese, have been arrested in Accra for failing to issue Value Added Tax (VAT) invoices to customers. Although the identities of the arrested persons were not disclosed, their businesses were given as Computer Land Ghana Limited, dealers in computers and accessories, and Hiang Vegetables and Fruits Chinese Supermarket, both at Osu; Emelijo Enterprise, a shop that sells disposables at La Wireless; U-Fresh Company Limited, a beverages manufacturing company owned by some Chinese, and Sulas Enterprise, dealers in power generating sets and construction machinery and Mahalia Kollection, a clothing shop, all at Spintex.  They are part of 93 businesses out of 115 found not to be issuing VAT invoices to customers who patronise their services. Mystery shopping The businesses illegalities were discovered through undercover investigations known as mystery shopping or text purchase, after the team visited 115 companies in a week of undercover exerci...

  The Ghana Revenue Authority has set May 1, 2023 as implementation date for the new and revised taxes announced in the 2023 Budget. The implementation date was captured in a notice issued by the authority. The new and revised taxes include three key tax measures – the Excise Amendment Act, 2023; Income Tax Amendment Act, 2023 and the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, 2023. The GRA noticed indicated that businesses have been given enough time to configure their systems for the taxes to be implemented since the law was passed. Excise Duty Amendment Tax On the Excise Duty Amendment Act, the authority added that the tax has been expanded to cover some items and commodities that was previously not captured. The development may result in the prices of some processed fruit juice, cigar, mineral water, spirits and wines including sparkling wine, going up. However, the Ghana Union of Traders Association, maintains that it will not hesitate to pass on the cost to consumers as it migh...

Mining giant, Gold Fields Limited and oil giant Kosmos Energy Limited have joined Tullow Oil and MTN Ghana for disputing ‘back tax bills’ by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). The two have however declined to give financial details. Gold Fields spokesman Sven Lunsche said in response to Bloomberg that “Ghana is clearly facing fiscal and economic challenges at the moment”. We are hopeful that the government will not resort to unreasonable fiscal measures that will further imperil the challenges facing the corporate sector.” Gold Fields is in talks with the GRA to resolve the demand for back taxes from 2018 to 2020. MTN, which has been ordered to pay $776 million in back taxes, has until Friday to reach an agreement with the Ghanaian authorities. Kosmos Energy, headquartered in Dallas, said the authorities claimed the company underpaid certain taxes and other contractual fiscal obligations. It maintains that the claim is without merit and will be “vigorously disputed” it if requ...

Tullow Oil says it will continue to engage with the government of Ghana to resolve a dispute over a $ 300 million tax bill. The oil producer revealed the tax bill from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) its latest trading update ahead of its 2022 full-year results in March. The company said it had received both revised and new tax assessments from the GRA to pay further tax on historical trading but it believes these are without merit.\ Cash taxes are expected to be in excess of $300 million in 2023 (at $80/bbl) as historical capital allowances in Ghana will have been fully utilised in the first quarter of 2023. Tullow has received both revised and new tax assessments from the Ghana Revenue Authority throughout 2022, with these assessments not resulting in an increase to the overall exposure previously disclosed," the trading update reads. "Tullow believes these assessments are without merit and continues its active engagement with the Government of Ghana with the aim to resol...

  Scancom PLC, owners of MTN Ghana has pushed back on an alleged tax infringement placed on the company by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) between 2014 and 2018. The telecommunications company says it is a tax compliant corporate citizen and the tax liability notice of GH¢8,209,603,842.14 (US$773 million) issued against it by the GRA is unacceptable. The assessment of GH¢8,209,603,842.14 includes penalties and interest charges. In this regard, from the base component of the Assessment (that is, excluding penalties and interest), on MTN Ghana’s analysis, the GRA infers that MTN Ghana under declared its revenue by more than approximately 30 percent over the 5-year period - 2014 to 2018. Assessment notice The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) issued MTN Ghana with a notice of assessment of tax liability (the Assessment) dated January 10, 2023. MTN says it received the notice on January 11, 2023. On January 13, 2023, GRA issued a temporary withdrawal of the Notice of Assessment...