Tax lawyer Fred Awutey has urged Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson to deliver a comprehensive strategy to expand Ghana’s tax base in the upcoming 2025 mid-year budget review.
Speaking in advance of the presentation, Awutey said the country’s current approach of deepening the existing tax net is unsustainable, stressing the need for broader and smarter tax measures.
“If you look at where we are now and at the number of taxes we have, every tax imposed is more or less like deepening the tax net. The best option of raising revenue is to try as much as possible to increase the tax base”
Fred Awutey, Tax Lawyer
According to Awutey, several segments of the economy remain largely untaxed despite their revenue potential. He pointed to digital platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook as glaring examples.
While the government has made some attempts to capture value-added tax (VAT) from digital transactions, he emphasized that income taxes from these tech giants remain uncollected. “Those are the areas you have to be looking at,” he said, highlighting that Nigeria had already introduced a digital service tax.
Awutey also questioned the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) recent attempt to implement modified base taxation in the informal sector. While acknowledging the initiative, he raised concerns about its execution and called on the Finance Minister to emulate successful models like India’s.
“India has implemented a modified base taxation to the extent that they are able to enroll in the informal sector to increase the tax base. It has increased over 100 percent and that has actually impacted their revenue”
Fred Awutey, Tax Lawyer
He urged the government to move from rhetoric to action on informal sector inclusion, noting the sector’s vast potential for expanding the tax base.
ORAL and Property-Based Revenue
In addition to digital and informal sectors, Lawyer Awutey cited high-value real estate as another area that remains outside the effective reach of the tax authorities. He raised questions about individuals constructing luxury properties without matching tax declarations.
“If you’re able to put up a property value of 7 million, 10 million Ghana cedis, have you paid the appropriate taxes? What is your tax return? Has GRA checked those tax returns? These are the people we have to be bringing into the tax net”
Fred Awutey, Tax Lawyer
Awutey insisted that targeting the upper-income bracket, particularly those involved in property developments, could significantly improve government revenue collection without overburdening the already taxed middle class.
The lawyer also mentioned the ongoing anti-corruption initiative known as Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), and called on the government to tax recovered funds as income, in accordance with tax laws.
“We have intimated that some people have taken government money and we have to get it back under Operation Recover All Loot. The tax law provides that to the extent that this is an income to those persons, they have to pay the appropriate tax on it”
Fred Awutey, Tax Lawyer
He further noted that the law permits the government to tax incomes up to six years retroactively, thereby allowing the state to convert illicit gains into legitimate revenue.
VAT and Rationalisation
Lawyer Awutey concluded his expectations by urging the Finance Minister to address the country’s high VAT rates, which currently hover around 22 percent when additional levies are included.
“It is very high. So how do we rationalise it to ensure that though inflation has brought down the prices of goods, people will find it truly affordable to be able to pay the tax as is required”
Fred Awutey, Tax Lawyer
With the government under pressure to restore fiscal balance, Awutey’s proposals reflect a growing demand for a fairer, broader, and more innovative tax regime.
The mid-year budget review, scheduled for presentation in Parliament, is expected to respond to these concerns with clear, implementable measures to increase revenue without worsening the economic burden on ordinary Ghanaians.
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