Editorial: Businesses welcome Standard VAT

Moves in the recently-read 2026 budget to overhaul the Value Added Tax structure have been welcomed by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI).

Indeed, GNCCI says its members have battled this tax regime for years. Its CEO, Mark Badu Aboagye, says the reform brings long-awaited relief after what he describes as a frustrating tax regime that made compliance stressful and pushed up business costs.

According to him, the Chamber every year for three to four years made the same input into the budget. This year’s budget finally delivered what they wanted – and for GNCCI a major problem has now been fixed.

Mr. Badu Aboagye said the previous structure forced businesses to deal with Standard VAT combined with straight-line levies. Even the computation was a challenge. He said the straight-line levies created direct costs for businesses.

The GNCCI boss said consolidating these levies into the Standard VAT has changed everything. It is now a VAT that allows businesses to claim input VAT, so it is no longer a direct cost.

This will influence prices and ease pressure on firms.

The post Editorial: Businesses welcome Standard VAT appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story