By Rachel Quartey & Valentia Tetteh
Members of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) have called on the government to prioritise effective stakeholder consultation in the formulation and implementation of tax policies to enhance compliance and improve economic outcomes.
The call was made during an engagement with the Minority Caucus in Parliament, led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, in Accra.
Call for “effective consultation”
An Economic Affairs Committee Member of AGI, Abeku Gyen-Quansah, stressed that consultation must go beyond dialogue and include active stakeholder participation in shaping policy outcomes.
“If we do not get a chance to look at the text of that draft, to my mind that is not effective consultation,” he stated.
He explained that policies developed without meaningful engagement often face resistance and poor compliance, particularly within the informal sector.
“Most of the time in Ghana, we don’t have effective consultation… agencies just meet people and write that they have consulted them,” he added.
On tax policy, Humphrey Ayim raised concerns about gaps in the ongoing VAT reforms, particularly the absence of exemption provisions for withholding tax.
“Currently on the VAT reforms, we do not have exemption on the withholding tax,” he noted.
He also questioned the effectiveness of current strategies to expand VAT collection and improve domestic revenue mobilisation.
“The question is, what is the mechanism… to expand the VAT collection?” he asked.
President of AGI, Kofi Nsiah-Poku, highlighted the need for simplified tax systems, especially for players in the informal sector.
“The moment you ask the informal sector, our mothers in the market, to start with these calculations, we are not going to get anywhere,” he said.
He advocated for a flat rate system to make tax compliance easier and more effective.
“The flat rate is indeed very important for easy implementation… compliance can be more effective,” he added.
Chairman of AIDEC Digital, Ambrose Yennah, emphasised the importance of broadening the tax base rather than overburdening existing taxpayers.
“You want to be compliant so that you can confidently do your business… but when compliant taxpayers are continuously punished, then there is a problem,” he stated.
He further called for transparency in revenue targets, urging authorities to focus on bringing new taxpayers into the system rather than intensifying pressure on existing ones.
“We are widening the tax net and reducing the tax burden… when that happens, taxpayers will be happy to comply,” he said.
The industry players stressed that effective consultation, proper stakeholder identification, and inclusive policy design are critical to ensuring fairness, improving compliance, and promoting sustainable economic growth.
They urged the government to adopt a more participatory approach in policy development to build trust between the public and private sectors and enhance the effectiveness of reforms.
