Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) collected GH¢113.06 billion for the 2023 fiscal year as against a revised target of GH¢109.19 billion.
This performance represents a nominal growth rate of 49.3% against an expected growth rate of 44.2% over the 2022 fiscal year.
GRA was tasked to collect a total tax revenue of GH¢106 billion for the 2023 fiscal year.
This represents a 40.0% growth over the collection of GH¢75.71 billion for the 2022 fiscal year.
GRA Commissioner on 2023 Revenue Target
The Commissioner-General of GRA, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah said the target was revised in the 2023 Mid-Year Budget to GH¢109.19 billion which was an upward adjustment of GH¢3.20 billion (i.e. 3.0%).
This represents a growth of 44.2% over the collection of 2022.
“I am happy to announce that, we recorded a year-on-year growth of 49.3%, the highest ever recorded in the last 20 years and the highest tax-to-GDP ratio of 14.1% in the last six years”, he said.
Details of 2023 Revenue Mobilised
Domestic tax revenue grew by 54.0% and contributed 73% of the total revenue raised in the year whereas tax revenue from international trade (Customs) grew by 38.2% and contributed 27% to total tax revenue.
In 2023, tax revenue growth more than doubled within two years, a feat which occurred only in 2011 and 2012 when Ghana first discovered oil in commercial quantities.
The Authority has also recorded the highest-ever Tax Buoyancy (the efficiency and responsiveness of tax revenue mobilisation to growth in the Economy) of 1.5 recorded in 2021 and 2023.
Reasons for the 2023 Revenue Growth
Rev. Dr Owusu-Amoah said, “Our outstanding performance is attributed to the intensified compliance activities to recover overdue liabilities as well as provisional assessments for 2023, high payment of Corporate Income Tax (CIT), especially from the Banks.
He added that compared to the 2022 payment of GH₵2,557.47m, in 2023, the Banks paid GH₵3,957.92m. These payments indicated a growth rate of 54.8% (i.e. GH₵1,400.45m).
Increase in revenue from 1% withholding tax at the ports.
Intensified fieldwork in the collection of tax stamps from the micro businesses, especially artisans and Vehicle Income Tax (VIT) payments which resumed full scale during the year after its suspension as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other measures that have also contributed include Effective classification and valuation of goods, and improvement in monitoring of leakages such as under-valuation and misdescription of goods by the Customs Division all of which contributed to enhancement in revenue performance.
Extractive Sector’s Contribution
The Commissioner noted that the Extractive sector contribution was led by the mining firms, Traditionally, the highest contributors to CIT.
He added that “The total contribution of these companies grew by 39.6% in 2023 from GH₵4,420.05m payment in 2022 to GH₵6,135.80m in 2023.”
“The relatively good price of gold, which saw an increase of 15.8% over the price in 2022 especially in the last quarter of the year, contributed to the performance of the mining companies,” the Commissioner added.
Mineral Royalty payments posted an increase in sales in 2023, coupled with the favourable price of gold and the over 40% depreciation of the cedi, which made taxpayers pay more in 2023 as compared to 2022.
VAT Contribution to 2023 Revenue Target
Domestic VAT registered a record year-on-year growth of 61.9% although it fell shy of its target by 9.9%.
The impressive growth resulted from intensive compliance and invigilation exercises during the year.
According to the Ghana Revenue Authority, the passage of the upfront VAT payment Act in May 2023 also enhanced the performance by roping in GH¢173.89m.
Import VAT performance also improved during the year, exceeding target by the target by 3.5% and a growth of 53.3% was recorded.
The Tax on Electronic Transactions that E-Levy also registered a year-on-year Growth of 85.7 per cent according to the Ghana Revenue Authority.
“The tax type saw an increase in transaction levels compared to the previous year,” GRA added.
It also noted that there was an increase in the level of transactions with a bump in revenue in December 2023 due to the increase in person-to-person transfers.
GRA Commissioner on Revenue Outlook
The Commissioner-General has therefore expressed appreciation to his dedicated and hardworking staff, taxpayers, and stakeholders for contributing to the success story of making significant strides in growing tax revenue.
He also appealed to all eligible individuals and businesses that earn income to contribute their fair share towards the socio-economic development of Ghana.
The GRA has further assured that they will be continuing their efforts to expand the tax with the various initiatives announced in the 2024 Budget Statement and also engage stakeholders while rolling out such initiatives for easy implementation.
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