Only 2.4m Ghanaians out of 30.8m population are paying tax - Finance Minister laments

The 2022 budget statement was delivered today Wednesday November 17, 2021

It was christened "Agenkwa" budget

One concern raised by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta was the issue of domestic revenue mobilization

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has expressed concerns on the number of Ghanaians paying direct tax to the government.

Delivering the 2022 budget presentation statement on the floor of Parliament, the minister said only 2.3 million Ghanaians out of the total population of 30.8 million were paying taxes.

He said the development was worrying especially when government was seeking to improve on its domestic revenue mobilization.

“Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Statistical Service has completed the preliminary report on the 2021 Population and Housing Census. The Census provided useful information that will inform the effective planning and implementation of government policies. However, the data presented also shows some trends that need to be addressed to build a more equitable society. Interestingly, out of the total population of 30.8 million, only 2,364,348 persons are bearing the burden of the entire population as tax payers as at August, 2021,” he lamented.

Giving more details on taxpayers in the country, the minister said “only 45,109 entities are registered as corporate taxpayers” whiles “only 54,364 persons are registered as self-employed taxpayers at the Ghana Revenue Authority”.

Ken Ofori-Atta maintained that there was a need to change the narrative in order to help the country attain an Upper Middle-Income status.

He said this must be achieved before the next census.

“Mr. Speaker, compared to our peers within the middle-income brackets, these statistics are a poor reflection on us and we need to change the narrative. We must resolve that by the next Census, we should have changed these statistics to become an Upper Middle-Income Country in line with our Ghana Beyond Aid agenda. We must eclipse a 20% threshold of revenue to GDP ratio by 2024,” he emphasized.

Earlier in the budget presentation, Mr. Ofori-Atta said this will require that “we share the burden so that every adult Ghanaian will contribute to the delivery of critical infrastructure, social services and improve lives”.