The 2025 mid-year budget introduces tax reforms, removing marine gas oil tax exemptions for non-artisanal fishing fleets, enhancing the modified taxation system with digital tools, and simplifying VAT to reduce rates and exempt small businesses.

Ghana’s Minister of Finance has presented the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Statement, reviewing the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy of the 2025 Budget and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana, to the Parliament on 24 July 2025.

The 2025 mid-year budget statement outlined the government’s progress since taking office on 7 January 2025.

The mid-year budget includes the following key tax updates:

Withdrawal of tax exemption on marine gas oil (MGO)

The tax exemptions on marine gas oil (MGO) for non-artisanal fishing fleets in Ghana will be removed. The tax exemptions were introduced to support nonartisanal fishing fleets operating from Ghana. Over the years, the tax exemptions have created incentives for abuse and smuggling of MGO onto the open market, resulting in revenue losses estimated at nearly half a billion Ghana cedis. The withdrawal of the tax exemptions is expected to curb smuggling and stem the erosion of tax revenue.

Reinforcement of the modified taxation system (MTS)

The Ministry, through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has deployed a dedicated USSD code to facilitate the seamless payment of presumptive taxes under the modified taxation system (MTS). In addition, the Ministry has fully operationalised the USSD platform and is being utilised for instalment-based tax payments.

Additionally, the Ministry introduced a simplified, digitised tax return form and will continue onboarding taxpayers under the 3% flat turnover rate.

VAT reforms 

Ghana’s government has introduced VAT reforms this year aimed at addressing the distortions and cascading effects inherent in the current VAT structure. A new VAT bill, set for October 2025, includes the abolishment of the COVID-19 levy, a reduction in the effective VAT rate, and the removal of the punitive cascading effects of the GETFund and NHIS levies.

Additionally, VAT flat rates will be replaced with a unified VAT rate, and the VAT registration threshold will be increased to exempt small and micro businesses.

Customs revenue improvement initiatives

To enhance customs revenue, the government intends to implement key measures, including deploying AI tools for accurate import assessments, rolling out the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system for early shipment data, strengthening anti-smuggling surveillance, and implementing institutional reforms within the Customs Division to improve transparency and efficiency.