Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has defended the government's tax reform agenda, telling Parliament that Ghana recorded higher tax revenue in 2025 despite abolishing several taxes, arguing that improved policy, stronger compliance and better tax administration are more effective than increasing the tax burden on citizens and businesses.

Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review in Parliament on Thursday, Dr Forson said the government's second major transformational policy reform focused on modernising Ghana's tax regime with the aim of restoring investor confidence, reviving private enterprise, easing the burden on households and businesses, and increasing domestic revenue mobilisation.

"The objective was very clear. First, to restore investor confidence. Second, to revive private enterprises. Third, to provide relief to households and businesses and also to increase domestic revenue through better policy, stronger compliance, and more efficient administration, not through higher tax reforms," he said.

The Finance Minister said the government subsequently abolished some what it described as nuisance taxes, including the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), betting tax, COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, emissions tax and VAT on motor insurance.

Dr Forson told Parliament that the government also undertook Ghana's first comprehensive Value Added Tax (VAT) reforms since 2015, aimed at removing distortions within the tax system, improving efficiency and strengthening compliance.

"Mr Speaker, for the first time since 2015, we undertook comprehensive VAT reforms, removing distortions, improving efficiency, and strengthening compliance," he said.

He added that the reforms had improved liquidity for businesses by allowing them to retain more working capital for expansion and job creation.

"More importantly, the reforms have left businesses with more working capital to invest, expand, and create jobs," he stated.

Dr Forson further announced the introduction of a sliding-scale royalty regime for gold, saying the measure would ensure Ghanaians receive a fairer share of the economic returns from the country's natural resources.

"We also introduced a sliding-scale royalty regime for gold to ensure that Ghanaian people receive a fairer share of the economic returns from their natural resources," he said.

The Finance Minister also outlined reforms at the Customs Division, noting that government had deployed artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to strengthen compliance, reduce leakages and improve revenue mobilisation.

"Beyond tax policy, we introduced major customs reforms supported by artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to strengthen compliance, reduce leakages, and improve revenue mobilisation," he told Parliament.

According to him, the AI-powered customs reforms have already yielded positive results.

"Since the introduction of the AI-powered customs reforms, monthly customs revenue has increased by approximately 17%, reflecting stronger compliance, more effective enforcement, and significantly reduced leakages," he said.

Dr Forson further disclosed that the government had taken steps to stop the misuse of the Tax Refund Account by ensuring that funds earmarked for legitimate tax refunds were no longer diverted for other purposes.

"We also amended the misuse of the Tax Refund Account to ensure that resources intended for legitimate tax refunds were no longer used as a slush fund. The results have been remarkable," he stated.

Despite abolishing multiple taxes and introducing no new tax measures, the Finance Minister said the government's reforms had resulted in increased tax revenue. He told Parliament that non-oil tax revenue rose by 0.5 percentage points of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), increasing from 12.6 per cent in 2024 to 13.1 per cent in 2025.

He maintained that the figures demonstrate the effectiveness of the government's approach to tax administration.

"Government collected more taxes in 2025 even after abolishing the nuisance taxes, including the E-Levy," Dr Forson said.