TaxLawGHby MSL Business School
Annual revenue intelligence
Ghana Tax Revenue Performance 2022
What Ghana collected, how the result compared with the annual target, which tax streams moved the outturn and what the official evidence can safely support.
Analysed and explained by MSL Business School through TaxLawGH.
2022 answer in brief
Collections missed the original Budget target but exceeded the lower mid-year target.
Ghana collected GHS 75.706 billion in tax revenue, 5.7% below the original GHS 80.306 billion Budget target. The same outturn was 5.3% above the revised GHS 71.95 billion target.
Adding the separately presented energy-sector levies produces a grand total of GHS 79.388 billion against a grand-total target of GHS 83.875 billion.
The comparison uses the original annual target. Revised targets, where the report provides them, remain separate so the benchmark is clear.
Revenue composition
Which broad streams carried the headline result?
Corporate income tax and VAT together accounted for 44.2% of the headline tax outturn. The E-Levy result was an important counterweight: GHS 643.35 million was collected against an original GHS 6.963 billion target.
Shares reproduce the composition measures reported for this edition. They are not presented as a complete allocation of every revenue stream.
Category performance
The headline was not evenly distributed across the tax base.
The category values reproduce the Ministry's annual schedule. Hover-free cards keep the result legible on touchscreens and small screens.
Target: GHS 35.26bn. Variance: GHS -922.38 million.
Target: GHS 24.427bn. Variance: GHS -5,320.81 million.
Target: GHS 20.619bn. Variance: GHS +1,643.88 million.
Detailed tax streams
Test the result line by line.
Values are GHS millions. The selected-stream chart makes the largest non-energy flows visible before the complete table. For 2023 and 2024, tax-type rows follow the report's detailed narrative sections because the appendix subrows or category labels are displaced.
Six largest non-energy streams by reported actual collection. This is a visual selection, not a separate total.
26 tax streams shown.
| Tax stream | Actual | Target | Calculated variance | Calculated variance % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAYEDomestic direct | 12,065.41 | 12,281.51 | -216.10 | -1.8% |
| Self-employed personal income taxDomestic direct | 659.17 | 1,362.05 | -702.88 | -51.6% |
| CompaniesDomestic direct | 17,650.36 | 18,035.58 | -385.22 | -2.1% |
| Other direct taxesDomestic direct | 317.30 | 499.66 | -182.36 | -36.5% |
| Mineral royaltiesDomestic direct | 1,796.19 | 1,677.85 | +118.34 | +7.1% |
| Airport TaxDomestic direct | 789.58 | 396.03 | +393.55 | +99.4% |
| National Fiscal Stabilisation LevyDomestic direct | 693.48 | 754.23 | -60.75 | -8.1% |
| Financial Sector Recovery LevyDomestic direct | 365.85 | 252.79 | +113.06 | +44.7% |
| Domestic VATDomestic indirect | 8,963.92 | 8,480.93 | +482.99 | +5.7% |
| Domestic exciseDomestic indirect | 604.82 | 670.88 | -66.06 | -9.8% |
| Domestic NHILDomestic indirect | 2,472.27 | 1,952.14 | +520.13 | +26.6% |
| Domestic GETFund LevyDomestic indirect | 2,472.27 | 1,952.14 | +520.13 | +26.6% |
| Communications Service TaxDomestic indirect | 532.29 | 651.74 | -119.45 | -18.3% |
| COVID-19 levy - flat rateDomestic indirect | 206.53 | 284.16 | -77.63 | -27.3% |
| COVID-19 levy - standard rateDomestic indirect | 972.92 | 469.27 | +503.65 | +107.3% |
| Electronic Transaction LevyDomestic indirect | 643.35 | 6,963.39 | -6,320.04 | -90.8% |
| Special Petroleum TaxDomestic indirect | 2,237.68 | 3,002.21 | -764.53 | -25.5% |
| Import duties and leviesCustoms | 10,139.39 | 9,029.97 | +1,109.42 | +12.3% |
| Import VATCustoms | 6,824.72 | 6,053.93 | +770.79 | +12.7% |
| Import NHILCustoms | 1,287.66 | 1,317.82 | -30.16 | -2.3% |
| Import GETFund LevyCustoms | 1,287.65 | 1,324.90 | -37.25 | -2.8% |
| Import COVID-19 levyCustoms | 536.45 | 388.13 | +148.32 | +38.2% |
| Petroleum taxesCustoms | 2,187.11 | 2,504.34 | -317.23 | -12.7% |
| Energy Debt Recovery LevyEnergy-sector levies | 2,269.64 | 2,739.05 | -469.41 | -17.1% |
| Energy Sector Recovery LevyEnergy-sector levies | 959.86 | 565.68 | +394.18 | +69.7% |
| Sanitation and Pollution LevyEnergy-sector levies | 452.01 | 264.40 | +187.61 | +71.0% |
Calculated variances use the displayed actual and target values. Values may not sum exactly because source narratives use rounded figures or present some combined collection points.
Economic context
The tax result was produced inside a specific macroeconomic environment.
The report places the outturn in a year of global food and energy shocks, supply constraints, tighter financial conditions and a stronger United States dollar. Ghana's inflation, exchange-rate depreciation and weaker real growth raised nominal tax bases while also increasing costs and eroding the real value of collections.
Real GDP growth
3.8%After 6.6% growth in 2021, as reported in the edition.
Average inflation
31.5%Year-end inflation reached 54.1% in December 2022.
Cedi movement
30% depreciationThe report contrasts this with 4.1% in 2021.
Policy rate
27.0%Up from 14.5% in 2021.
Largest tax-stream variances
Which individual streams moved furthest from target?
This ranking is calculated from the report values displayed on this page. It shows the five largest positive and five largest negative non-energy variances in cash terms, not a causal attribution model.
| Tax stream | Actual | Target | Variance | Variance % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Import duties and levies | 10,139.39 | 9,029.97 | +1,109.42 | +12.3% |
| Import VAT | 6,824.72 | 6,053.93 | +770.79 | +12.7% |
| Domestic NHIL | 2,472.27 | 1,952.14 | +520.13 | +26.6% |
| Domestic GETFund Levy | 2,472.27 | 1,952.14 | +520.13 | +26.6% |
| COVID-19 levy - standard rate | 972.92 | 469.27 | +503.65 | +107.3% |
| Electronic Transaction Levy | 643.35 | 6,963.39 | -6,320.04 | -90.8% |
| Special Petroleum Tax | 2,237.68 | 3,002.21 | -764.53 | -25.5% |
| Self-employed personal income tax | 659.17 | 1,362.05 | -702.88 | -51.6% |
| Companies | 17,650.36 | 18,035.58 | -385.22 | -2.1% |
| Petroleum taxes | 2,187.11 | 2,504.34 | -317.23 | -12.7% |
Amounts are GHS millions. Where the official narrative reports rounded amounts, the calculated variance inherits that rounding.
Policy and administration record
Revenue measures announced for the 2023 Budget
The annual report places revenue performance beside the policy agenda available when it was prepared. The list below is historical report content, not a statement that every proposal was enacted or remains current.
Open the report's policy and administration summary
- Add a 35% personal income-tax band and revise selected income-tax rules, benefits and concessionary rates.
- Provide for a minimum chargeable income system and unify loss carry-forward rules.
- Restrict foreign-exchange loss deductions to actual losses.
- Review tobacco and alcohol excise and tax electronic smoking devices and liquids.
- Increase the standard VAT rate from 12.5% to 15% and review VAT thresholds and exemptions.
- Replace the National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy with the Growth and Sustainability Levy.
- Reduce the Electronic Transfer Levy headline rate from 1.5% to 1%.
- Phase out the benchmark discount policy and provide for importer self-clearing at ports.
How to read this edition
Analysis of the official findings.
Against the original Budget target, 2022 underperformed. Against the reduced mid-year target, it overperformed. The distinction matters because the original target tests forecasting and initial policy delivery, while the revised target reflects shocks and delayed measures recognised during the year.
Original target
Shows the result against the annual Budget forecast and keeps the four-year comparison consistent.
Revised target
Where available, shows how the Government adjusted expectations after part of the year had elapsed.
Real growth
Separates the inflation-adjusted movement from a nominal increase in cedi collections.
Tax-to-GDP
Measures revenue relative to the economy, but only when the numerator and GDP definition are read exactly as stated in that edition.
Connected TaxLawGH research
Move from fiscal outcomes to the taxes that produced them.
Growth and fiscal effort
Nominal growth and real growth tell different stories.
Change measured in current money values.
The report's inflation-adjusted growth measure.
Use the ratio definition stated for this edition; definitions are not fully consistent across all four reports.
TaxLawGH insights
What matters beyond the headline.
Two target baselines
The original Budget target was missed, while the lower mid-year target was exceeded. Both comparisons are necessary to understand the outturn.
Inflation changed the picture
Nominal revenue grew 31.8%, but the report records a 0.7% decline after its inflation adjustment.
E-Levy shortfall
Electronic Transaction Levy collections were GHS 643 million against a GHS 6.963 billion annual target, the largest individual shortfall in the schedule.
Customs held up
Customs was the only main category above its original annual target, offsetting part of the direct and domestic-indirect gaps.
Reading the evidence safely
Source definitions, rounding and discrepancies are part of the analysis.
Primary source
Start with the official Ministry report.
Annual Tax Revenue Performance Report: 2022
Prepared by the Revenue Policy Division of Ghana's Ministry of Finance. The report reviews the full calendar year's tax collections, annual targets, tax categories and selected policy developments.
Frequently asked questions
Ghana 2022 tax revenue questions
How much tax revenue did Ghana collect in 2022?
The Ministry of Finance reports GHS 75.706 billion in tax revenue for 2022, before the separately presented energy-sector levies.
Did Ghana meet the 2022 annual tax revenue target?
The outturn was 5.7% below the original annual target of GHS 80.306 billion.
What was the revised 2022 target?
The report gives a revised target of approximately GHS 71.95 billion. TaxLawGH keeps that comparison separate from the original Budget target.
How fast did Ghana's tax revenue grow in 2022?
The report records 31.8% nominal growth and -0.7% real growth.
Are energy-sector levies included in the GHS 75.706 billion headline?
No. The report adds separately presented energy-sector levies to reach a grand total of GHS 79.388 billion.
What source does TaxLawGH use?
This page is grounded in the Ministry of Finance Annual Tax Revenue Performance Report for 2022, including its detailed schedules and tax-type analysis.