Chairman of the National Economic Dialogue, Dr. Ishmael Yamson, has cautioned the government against the continuous imposition of new taxes, arguing that Ghana’s economic recovery lies in fiscal discipline and better resource management, not in burdening citizens and businesses with additional taxes.
Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues program on Sunday, March 9, 2025, Dr. Yamson stressed that overtaxing the same segment of society will only stifle economic growth.
“You can’t keep increasing taxes on the same people and expect the economy to grow. We need to be disciplined in how we manage the resources we already have,” he said.
Dr. Yamson pointed out that Ghana’s real problem is not low revenue collection but poor management and misuse of public funds. “The problem is not that we don’t collect enough money. The problem is how we use it. If we were disciplined in spending and plugged all the revenue leakages, we wouldn’t need to keep imposing new taxes,” he emphasized.
He also criticized the current tax system that allows wealthy individuals and large businesses to avoid paying their fair share, calling for a digitized revenue collection system to reduce tax evasion.
“There are people in this country making millions but not paying taxes because the system allows it. If we digitised revenue collection, tax evasion would be much harder,” he noted.
Dr. Yamson further argued that struggling businesses cannot be taxed into prosperity and urged the government to create an environment that allows businesses to thrive and expand the tax base.
“You can’t tax struggling businesses into prosperity. The government must make the economy work so that more people and companies can contribute their fair share,” he advised.
He concluded with a warning: “We don’t need more taxes; we need discipline. If we fail to manage our resources wisely, no amount of taxation will fix this country.”
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