For years, Ghana’s business community has urged successive governments to broaden the country’s tax base rather than impose additional burdens on the relatively small pool of compliant taxpayers.
As government prepares to present the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, manufacturers are renewing that call, arguing that sustainable revenue growth will come from bringing more businesses into the tax net while reducing the cost of doing business to stimulate investment, production and job creation.
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) says widening tax compliance, alongside lower utility costs, affordable long-term financing and targeted tax relief, would do more to strengthen the economy than introducing fresh taxes on businesses already contributing to the national purse.
The Greater Accra Chairman of AGI, Mr. Tsonam Akpeloo, said manufacturers were not expecting new taxes in the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review but rather reductions in existing taxes and import duties to improve competitiveness and accelerate industrial growth.
Mr. Akpeloo said formally registered businesses continued to bear a disproportionate share of the country’s tax burden because they were easier for tax authorities to identify.
He said broadening the tax net would enable the government to generate more revenue without placing additional pressure on compliant businesses.
“Our view is that if they broaden the tax bracket, it will be easier to expand revenue and free us. Because AGI members are easily identified, they continue to burden us, and that’s not fair,” he said.
Mr. Akpeloo expressed the Association’s hope that the government would focus on reducing existing taxes and import duties rather than introducing fresh levies.
He noted that some import duties remained relatively high and should be reviewed to improve the competitiveness of local manufacturers.
Beyond taxation, Mr. Akpeloo called for measures to reduce electricity and water tariffs, saying rising utility costs were significantly increasing production expenses for industries.
He explained that manufacturers, particularly beverage companies, depended heavily on water and that higher water tariffs directly affected production costs.
“Currently, it’s not funny. The light bills and the water bills are really high. A lot of our industries, especially beverage companies, depend heavily on water. If you increase water tariffs, you are really affecting the very foundation of the cost build-up,” he said.
Mr. Akpeloo also urged the government to address inefficiencies in electricity generation and distribution to help lower utility costs for businesses.
“We want government to take steps to tackle the issue around generation losses, distribution losses and related inefficiencies so that utility costs can come down,” he added.
He further called for policies that would improve manufacturers’ access to affordable long-term financing, describing patient capital as essential for expanding industrial production and supporting the government’s 24-hour economy agenda.
“And above all, there has to be a specific target of having us have access to long-term financing for industry to help build the 24-hour economy policy,” he said.
