We welcome Finance Minister’s decision to abolish nuisance taxes – IEA

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has welcomed Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s decision to abolish nuisance taxes, including the E-Levy, Emissions Tax, and Covid Tax, aligning with the government’s commitment.

However, it noted that its recommendation to maintain but reduce the Betting Tax to 5% was disregarded, as the government chose to scrap it entirely.

While the IEA proposed abolishing the Growth and Sustainability Tax (GST) for being outdated, the government retained and increased it from 1% to 3% for extractives companies.

The think tank argued that this rate is still too low and called for a Windfall Tax to maximize benefits from the sector. It also criticized the 16.1% revenue-to-GDP ratio target, urging Ghana to address tax loopholes to reach the 25-30% benchmark of peer economies.