TaxLawGHby MSL Business School
MSL Business SchoolTax expenditure intelligence
Ghana Tax Expenditure 2023
The detailed schedule records GHS 4.619 billion of tax expenditure in 2023. Import-related tax expenditure represented 76.76%, domestic indirect tax expenditure 17.53%, and domestic direct tax expenditure 5.72%.
Analysed and explained by MSL Business School through TaxLawGH.
2023 answer in brief
GHS 4.619 billion of estimated tax expenditure.
The detailed schedule records GHS 4.619 billion of tax expenditure in 2023. Import-related tax expenditure represented 76.76%, domestic indirect tax expenditure 17.53%, and domestic direct tax expenditure 5.72%.
Ministry estimate for the reporting year.
The edition does not provide a directly comparable outturn projection.
Including methodology, schedules and policy discussion.
Composition
Where the estimated revenue forgone arose.
These three categories reconcile to the Ministry's headline total, subject only to rounding.
| Category | GHS million | Calculated share |
|---|---|---|
| Import-related tax expenditure | 3,545.33 | 76.76% |
| Domestic indirect tax expenditure | 809.49 | 17.53% |
| Domestic direct tax expenditure | 264.02 | 5.72% |
Method, scope and limits
What the estimate includes - and what it cannot tell you.
Revenue-forgone method
The report uses GITMIS data for domestic tax expenditure and ICUMS data for import tax expenditure. It applies the revenue-forgone method. Export treatment and diplomatic relief are excluded under the report's stated convention, while excise relief is measured as the difference between the standard and actual rates. These choices define the estimate and matter when comparing it with another study.
Coverage in this edition
Import-related tax expenditure rose to GHS 3,545.33 million. The parliamentary category was about GHS 1.711 billion, nearly half of the import total. Domestic tax expenditure was GHS 1,073.51 million: GHS 809.49 million of indirect-tax expenditure and GHS 264.02 million of direct-tax expenditure.
Reporting purpose and framework
The 2023 edition says the Ministry used GITMIS for domestic estimates and ICUMS for import estimates. It describes tax expenditure as a deviation from the benchmark tax system that gives preferential treatment to specified taxpayers, activities, sectors or regions. Its reporting rationale is fiscal transparency: show the cost of preferences so Parliament, policymakers and the public can evaluate them alongside other budget choices.
How to interpret the number
A high estimate can reflect the size of a qualifying activity, the value of the preference, or both. It is not by itself proof that the preference is ineffective.
Edition-specific data limitation
The report again identifies the absence of complete digitisation of domestic-tax data. Comparisons therefore require care: a movement can reflect policy, economic activity, administrative capture, classification or data quality, and not only the legal generosity of a concession.
What evaluation still requires
A complete assessment needs the policy objective, beneficiaries, duration, counterfactual behaviour, distributional effects, compliance cost and evidence of additional investment or output.
Detailed schedules
Move from the headline to the report's underlying categories.
Domestic direct-tax expenditure schedule
Amounts are GHS millions. Values below convert the report's cedi-denominated detailed schedule into millions.
| Tax preference or sector | GHS m |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | 0.70 |
| Agro-processing | 1.66 |
| Export of non-traditional goods | 2.62 |
| Free Zones | 28.89 |
| Hotels | 1.22 |
| Location incentives | 1.45 |
| Mining | 224.85 |
| Rural banks | 2.64 |
| Waste processing | 0.00 |
| Young entrepreneurs | 0.00 |
| Total domestic direct | 264.02 |
Domestic indirect-tax expenditure schedule
| Tax preference | GHS m |
|---|---|
| Projects and domestic relief | 53.51 |
| Domestic refunds and post-paid relief | 129.30 |
| Excise sliding-scale relief | 405.33 |
| Textiles zero-rating | 163.84 |
| Automobile zero-rating | 57.51 |
| Total domestic indirect | 809.49 |
Import and parliamentary categories
Import-related tax expenditure rose to GHS 3,545.33 million. The parliamentary category was about GHS 1.711 billion, nearly half of the import total. Domestic tax expenditure was GHS 1,073.51 million: GHS 809.49 million of indirect-tax expenditure and GHS 264.02 million of direct-tax expenditure.
The report separately identifies a small MPs schedule within the parliamentary material. The broader parliamentary category covers approvals beyond that individual schedule and should not be read as a payment to Members of Parliament.
Policy and administration
What the 2023 edition says should change.
- Prepare a petroleum list that applies local-content rules.
- Discontinue exemption clauses in commercial contracts.
- Restrict exemption clauses in loan agreements to interest on the loans.
- Review mining-industry exemptions and repeal relief for consumption goods not directly related to production.
How to read the report's conclusion
The Ministry treats the reduction from 2022 as an indication of a positive effect from the Exemptions Act, 2022. The report does not present a counterfactual evaluation isolating the Act from changes in imports, sector activity, data capture or classification. TaxLawGH therefore preserves the Ministry's attribution without presenting it as independently proved causation.
Continue the research
Connect fiscal cost to the law and the revenue system.
TaxLawGH insights
What matters beyond the headline.
A lower total
The detailed total was GHS 185.74 million below the 2022 figure reproduced in the report, a decline of approximately 3.87%.
Imports became more dominant
Import-related tax expenditure rose to GHS 3.545 billion and 76.76% of the total, even as the overall total declined.
Parliamentary exemptions led
The report attributes GHS 1.711 billion of import exemptions to the parliamentary category, approximately 48% of the import total.
Domestic relief contracted
Domestic direct and indirect tax expenditure both declined. The report links the movement to legislative, rate and taxpayer-profitability effects.
Reading the evidence safely
Official does not mean internally flawless.
TaxLawGH checks totals, percentages, cross-page consistency and later-edition revisions before presenting a result.
Primary source
Open the official Ministry edition.
2023 Tax Expenditure Report
Published by the Revenue Policy Division of Ghana's Ministry of Finance. TaxLawGH has preserved the source copy used for this analysis while continuing to direct readers to the official Ministry version.
Frequently asked questions
Ghana 2023 tax expenditure
How much was Ghana's tax expenditure in 2023?
The Ministry's 2023 edition records GHS 4.619 billion.
What does tax expenditure mean here?
The Ministry uses a revenue-forgone approach: benchmark tax liability less the liability after an exemption, relief, concession, reduced rate or other preferential treatment.
Is tax expenditure the same as cash spending?
No. It is estimated revenue forgone through the tax system, not a cash payment recorded as ordinary expenditure.
Does this report state current tax law?
No. It is a historical fiscal report. Current legal treatment must be checked against the applicable legislation and effective date.
Why does TaxLawGH identify source discrepancies?
An official report can contain typographical, classification or arithmetic inconsistencies. TaxLawGH discloses them and uses the narrowest figure supported by the source evidence.