“We have introduced over 20 tax software solutions and countless reforms, but our tax system continues to underperform,” he stated. “Revenue growth is not keeping pace with economic expansion. The real issue lies in weak enforcement and inefficient administration,” he added.
Dr. Adam compared the tax regime to a leaking pipe: “You cannot just increase tax rates or add more levies without fixing the system. The logical solution is to stop the leaks so that what flows in reaches its destination.”
He cited a 2022 compliance audit that revealed only 39 percent of potential VAT revenue was collected, while corporate income tax compliance lagged at 18.5 percent. The country’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains stuck around 14 percent—well below the Sub-Saharan African average of 16 percent and the OECD average of 30 percent.
The GRA’s renewed digital strategy includes close collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Centre, Bank of Ghana, and other state institutions to track financial transactions, capital flows, and illicit activities, including cryptocurrency movements.
Enhanced customs intelligence, automated post-clearance audits, and tighter port surveillance are part of the plan to curb smuggling and trade-based tax evasion.
Still, Dr. Adam warned of structural constraints. “Even with these interventions, the current size and structure of domestic revenue are insufficient to finance our recurring expenditure,” he said, adding that dwindling donor support and post-debt-restructuring challenges make domestic resource mobilisation even more critical.
He also called for comprehensive reforms in the extractive sector’s fiscal regime, including windfall tax mechanisms and stricter oversight of multinational corporations engaged in aggressive tax planning, such as transfer pricing and debt loading—areas that advanced AI systems may be able to address.
“Our revenue sources are still woefully inadequate. If we do not fix the system, we risk jeopardising our national development ambitions,” Dr. Adam further stated.
GRA board member and Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu assured participants that policy insights from the dialogue would feed into future reforms. “This conversation is timely. It helps us sharpen the tools we are using and question the assumptions we have made,” he said.
thebftonline.com
