Professional services firm Deloitte has lauded the government’s reform of Ghana’s Value Added Tax (VAT) system as a sound policy response to private sector concerns, noting that its success will depend on broadening the tax base, improving administration, simplifying compliance, and maintaining strong enforcement. These measures, Deloitte adds, will help safeguard revenue, promote fairness, and support Ghana’s economic transformation agenda.

The firm recommends that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) intensify taxpayer education, streamline digital tax platforms, and engage regularly with SMEs to ensure the reforms are effective and widely adopted. Deloitte also noted that reported revenue underperformance in PAYE, corporate income tax, VAT, excise duties, growth and sustainability levy, and import duties in 2025 requires careful analysis to address underlying causes.

During Deloitte’s annual Economic Dialogue on the 2026 Budget, Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike, President of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA), expressed disappointment that the VAT rate reduction was limited to 20%, rather than the 10% cut the association had hoped for.

Samuel Arkhurst, Coordinating Director (Technical) at the Ministry of Finance, defended the 20% effective VAT rate as a balanced approach that provides fiscal relief to the private sector while protecting government revenue. “The reduction is a bold position. We have effectively removed six percentage points of indirect tax from the system, lowering the effective rate from 21.9% to 20%,” Arkhurst noted, adding that this helps prevent erosion of the domestic revenue base, which funds public services and development projects.

The 2026 Budget projects VAT revenue to grow from 16% of GDP in 2025 to 16.8% next year, with a long-term target of 18–20% by 2027. Daniel Owusu, Managing Partner at Deloitte Ghana, stressed that such dialogues are crucial for bridging the gap between policy design and private sector implementation.

At a separate post-budget forum organised by KPMG and UNDP, GRA Commissioner-General Anthony Sarpong reaffirmed VAT as central to next year’s domestic revenue efforts. Key reforms include:


  • Abolishing the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy.


  • Reducing the effective VAT rate from 21.9% to 20%.


  • Raising the VAT registration threshold for goods from GH¢200,000 to GH¢750,000, giving smaller businesses more room to grow before full VAT compliance.

These measures are expected to free about GH¢5.7 billion for businesses and households in 2026, including GH¢3.7 billion from the removal of the COVID-19 levy. Businesses will also benefit from the elimination of cascading costs from levies such as NHIL and GETFund.

The government is modernising VAT administration to reduce compliance costs, improve fairness, and strengthen enforcement. GRA plans to introduce AI systems for Customs valuation and classification, replacing time-consuming manual processes. Blockchain-enabled cargo tools will also be deployed to curb leakages in import declarations, addressing findings that less than US$7 billion worth of goods arrived in Ghana despite US$45 billion in recorded transfers over five years.

Other enforcement measures include stricter cash movement rules: travellers carrying more than US$10,000 must declare it, while amounts exceeding US$50,000 require documentation on the source and purpose. Scanners will be installed to detect undeclared currency, and fiscalisation rules will be enforced in 2026, requiring retailers to use electronic devices that transmit VAT data to GRA in real time.

These reforms, Deloitte and GRA officials say, are designed to simplify compliance, enhance transparency, and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation, while providing fiscal relief and support for private sector growth.