GUTA Calls For The Review Of Tax Exemption Regime

The country’s Tax Exemptions Regime was fundamentally designed to achieve specific socio-economic objectives such as promoting investment and job creation.

However, successive governments have been expressing grave concerns over its negative impacts. According to government’s own data, GH¢1.7bn was lost to tax exemptions in 2020 alone. But, according to official data from the Institute of Economic Affairs IEA, Ghana is projected to be losing over GH¢5 billion every year through tax exemptions.

Clearly, an incentive intended to woo investors has rather become a cancer on the nation. The irony is that Ghana’s Tax Revenue to GDP is far below the 25 percent estimate for middle-income countries. For instance, the 2020 Tax Revenue to GDP for Ghana stood at 11.5% and that figure has been estimated to reach some 13.24% in 2024.

The Ghana Union of Trader’s Association has therefore called on government to review the tax exemption regime, in the face of the fact that a country struggling to raise revenue be giving away over 5 BILLION CEDIS annually in the name of tax exemptions.