Tax reforms and revenue mobilisation performance in Ghana: A case of ghana revenue authority in greater Accra region

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the impact of tax reforms on revenue mobilisation performance in Ghana. In order to achieve this purpose, secondary data were obtained from the domestic tax division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, and real GDP values were obtained from the Ghana Statistical Service, which facilitated the analysis for this study. The analysis started with unit root, cointegration, and stability tests to establish the data’s stationarity. Afterwards, the study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test to establish the relationships among the variables. The results from the data analysis found that all the variables (revenue generation, Value Added Tax and petroleum tax) under this study had a positive relationship with revenue performance and played a significant role in determining how tax reform influences state revenue performance. This study concluded that tax reforms had a significant effect on revenue mobilisation performance in Ghana and that tax revenue mobilisation is relatively responsive to changes in the economic circumstances in the Ghanaian economy. It was recommended that the GRA keep investing in technologydriven initiatives, such as data analytics and risk-based strategies, to find tax gaps and efficiently pursue non-compliant taxpayers. The GRA and the Ministry of Finance should work together to evaluate the efficiency and impact of current tax incentives and exemptions. Also, the GRA should intensify efforts to bring more individuals and businesses into the formal tax net.