The government has initiated a comprehensive review of Ghana’s Value Added Tax (VAT) regime to address the growing concerns of businesses over compliance difficulties and operational inefficiencies under the current tax structure.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, revealed this in a Facebook post on Monday, April 14, 2025, following a high-level meeting with Wencai Zhang, Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer of the World Bank Group.
“During my recent meeting with Wencai Zhang, Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer of the World Bank Group, I provided an update on Ghana’s efforts to comprehensively review our Value Added Tax (VAT) regime,” Dr. Forson said.
He emphasized that the move to reform the VAT system is essential, noting that the existing structure poses major challenges to businesses across the country.
“This reform is critical, as the current structure poses significant challenges for businesses across the country,” he wrote.
Dr. Forson disclosed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently involved in the process to assist with the technical aspects of the review.
“I informed Mr. Zhang that an IMF Technical Assistance Mission is currently in Ghana, working closely with us to support this important review process.”
Highlighting the scale of the issue, he pointed out that Ghana’s VAT rate is among the highest on the continent, which has negatively impacted tax compliance and efficiency.
“It is worth noting that Ghana’s effective VAT rate, at 21.9%, possibly the highest in Africa, has contributed to compliance difficulties and operational inefficiencies.”
He assured stakeholders and development partners that the government is committed to overhauling the system in time for the next national budget.
“We are fully aware of these issues, and I assured our partners that a complete overhaul of the VAT system is actively under consideration,” he noted.
“The government remains committed to completing this process and implementing the necessary reforms in time for the next national budget. We are on track to deliver these changes by November.”
