The Ghana Revenue Authority has reported a strong rebound in tax revenue, recording a 20 per cent increase in collections despite the recent removal of key taxes such as the E-Levy, COVID-19 levy and betting tax.
According to officials of the Authority, total revenue for the first quarter rose to approximately GH¢33.7 billion, representing a significant improvement compared to the same period last year. The surge comes at a time when many analysts had predicted that scrapping these taxes would create a substantial shortfall in government revenue.
Speaking at a policy forum organised by the Centre for Policy Scrutiny, Technical Advisor to the Commissioner-General, Elsie Appau Klu, acknowledged that the initial expectation was that abolishing the taxes would negatively impact revenue performance. However, she explained that the outcome has proven more nuanced.
She noted that while the removal of the taxes placed pressure on revenue mobilisation efforts, improved compliance measures, administrative efficiency and broader economic activity appear to have offset the anticipated losses. The Authority’s performance, she said, demonstrates resilience in domestic revenue generation despite policy shifts.
The development challenges calls by some policy analysts for the reintroduction of the scrapped taxes. Tax expert Isaac Danso Agyiri, for instance, has argued that reinstating the levies could potentially generate billions of cedis in additional revenue over the next few years.
The now-abolished levies—including the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), introduced to tax digital transactions, as well as the COVID-19 health levy and betting tax—were widely debated due to their impact on consumers and businesses. Their removal formed part of broader fiscal reforms aimed at easing the tax burden on Ghanaians while stimulating economic activity.
Despite these cuts, the GRA’s latest figures suggest that revenue growth can still be achieved through strengthened tax administration and improved compliance, offering some reassurance about the country’s fiscal outlook.
