New VAT Rate Now 20%—GRA Boss Says Simpler System Will Boost Revenue!
Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has said that the agency will start charging the new Value Added Tax (VAT) rate of 20% today, January 1, 2026, instead of the old rate of 21%.
He said that the goal of the move is to make it easier for businesses and service providers to pay VAT and to increase the country’s revenue collection.
Mr. Sarpong told Joy Business that the many changes and improvements made to the tax law to make payment easier will make a big difference in how much money the government can collect in the short term.
“We got rid of the flat rate so that everyone who uses the system can pay the standard rate. This will make the system fairer.” We think that VAT will make a big difference in how much money this country makes, thanks to a lot of administrative changes and new ideas. And we’re excited to work with businesses to make sure that taxpayers know what they owe in VAT. “Every consumer in this country will ask for a VAT receipt when they buy something,” he said.
The new VAT goes into effect after the VAT Bill 2025 was passed and signed by the president.
This change is a big step toward making the country’s tax system easier to understand, bringing laws together, getting rid of the COVID-19 Levy, and making it easier for people to follow the rules by using technology in revenue administration.
As the country works to improve its ability to collect taxes, the law also aims for more fairness and economic growth.
The International Monetary Fund suggested this change as a way to make tax collection less bureaucratic.
Some important changes are making the flat-rate system work better, lowering effective rates, letting GETFund/NHIL be deducted as input tax, and making revenue collection more efficient.
This will also include using digital channels like the E-VAT to make sure the right amount is collected.
In a message to the country for the new year, the Commissioner General stressed the need for business people and tax officials to work together to come to an agreement on how to raise money for development.
