Ghana’s tax regime not in the best of shape, very high — AGI complains

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has expressed concerns over Ghana’s tax regime, describing it as overly burdensome and detrimental to businesses.

Chief Executive Officer of the AGI, Seth Twum-Akwaboah, bemoaned the high taxes imposed on businesses, particularly on raw material imports, which he says stifles growth in the industrial sector.

“The situation in Ghana now is that our tax regime is not in the best of shape. It is very high. If you import raw materials and when you look at the declaration, over 52 per cent of the value of items goes into taxes,” he lamented during an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express business edition.

Mr. Twum-Akwaboah also highlighted the disparity in tax compliance between formal and informal businesses, stressing that it creates an unfair competitive environment.

“The other aspect is the unfairness in it. If I am a major distributor or operator and I’m selling, because I am in the formal sector, I put VAT on it. When you go to the next door, and someone is selling the same item, there is no VAT on it. So, I’m saying we need to rationalize our tax regime,” he said.

The AGI boss called for urgent reforms in the tax structure to ensure fairness and boost the competitiveness of local businesses in both domestic and international markets.