In the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review, which was delivered to Parliament yesterday, July 24, 2025, Ghana’s Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced major tax adjustments. The government intends to eliminate the COVID-19 fee, lower the effective VAT rate, and eliminate the GETFund and NHIA levy’s punitive cascading effect, he said.
“I would like to reassure the people of Ghana that at a minimum, the Covid levy will be abolished and the effective VAT rate will be reduced, the punitive cascading effect of the GETFund and NHIA levy will be also removed’’ he reiterated.
The Finance Minister announced that the reforms are aimed at addressing the distortions and cascading effects inherent in the current VAT structure. To support this effort, he mentioned that the Ministry was committed to seeking technical assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while engaging the Ghanaian people.
“I am pleased that we have successfully completed our engagement with the International Monetary Fund(IMF) with regards to the tax reform’’, he said.
Mr. Ato Forson claims that the Ghana Revenue Authority is conducting a nationwide consultation process with the Ministry of Finance in order to raise awareness of the VAT reform among important figures in the commerce and industry sector.
As part of the 2026 budget statement, the Minister stated that the Ministry of Finance intends to finish the consultation process by the end of September 2025 so that it may draft a new VAT bill by October 2025 and submit it to Parliament.