Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has reaffirmed the government's commitment to fiscal discipline, assuring Parliament that expenditure will remain within approved limits while efforts continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending.

Speaking during the presentation of the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review in Parliament on Thursday, Dr Forson said prudent expenditure management remains central to the government's fiscal strategy.

"On the expenditure side, government remains firmly committed to keeping spending within approved limits while improving its efficiency and effectiveness," he told Parliament.

The Finance Minister also outlined what he described as the most ambitious reforms to Ghana's Value Added Tax (VAT) system in more than a decade, saying the measures are aimed at eliminating longstanding distortions, improving efficiency and supporting business growth.

"Mr Speaker, this government introduced the most ambitious reforms to Ghana's VAT system in over a decade to eliminate long-standing distortions, improve efficiency and support business growth," he said.

According to Dr Forson, the government has abolished the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy and restructured the VAT system by decoupling the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Levy and the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) from the VAT base, making both eligible for input tax deductions.

He added that the reforms have reduced the effective VAT rate from 21.9 per cent to 20 per cent, abolished VAT on the exploration and prospecting for minerals, thereby relieving thousands of micro and small businesses of the requirement to register for and charge VAT, and extended the zero-rating of locally manufactured sanitary pads until 2028.

"We abolished the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy. We decoupled the GETFund Levy and the National Health Insurance Levy from the VAT base, making both eligible for input tax deduction. We reduced the effective VAT rate from 21.9% to 20%. We abolished VAT on exploration and prospecting for minerals, relieving thousands of micro and small businesses of the obligation to register for and charge VAT. And we extended the zero-rating of locally manufactured sanitary pads to 2028," he said.

Dr Forson said the reforms are expected to simplify tax administration, reduce the burden on businesses and improve tax compliance.

"These reforms have simplified the VAT system, removed distortions, lowered the tax burden and strengthened the foundation for improved compliance," he stated.