Ghana’s Low Tax-to-GDP Ratio Makes it Hard to Finance its Developmental Agenda
Close-up of Ghana cedis banknotes, highlighting local currency used in Ghana’s economy.
Limited access to the international money market has forced managers of Ghana’s economy to look inwards for much needed revenue to finance its development. Finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta now says raising money from domestic taxes is the way to go. The hard part: finding ways to convince millions of untaxed people in Ghana to contribute to the national kitty. Only 8.2% of working Ghanaians pay income tax according to Ofori-Atta, who is developing ‘burden sharing’ strategies to pull the rest in. “Only 2,364,348 are bearing the burden of the entire population as taxpayers as of August 2021. This is a trend that needs to be addressed to build a more equitable society,” the finance minister said while presenting the 2022 budget to parliament in December.
SOURCE: THE AFRICA REPORT