Acting GRA Commissioner-General touts higher VAT threshold as major relief for small businesses
Acting Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, has described the government’s decision to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) registration threshold as a significant boost for small and micro enterprises, noting that it will ease long-standing compliance pressures on smaller businesses.
Speaking at the KPMG–UNDP 2026 Post-Budget Forum in Accra on Monday, November 17, Mr Sarpong said the reform forms part of a wider agenda to build a simpler, more efficient, and technology-driven tax administration system.
The government has proposed raising the VAT registration threshold for businesses dealing in goods from GHS200,000 to GHS750,000, a change Mr Sarpong believes will give smaller enterprises the flexibility to operate and grow without the burden of early VAT compliance.
“Part of the reforms is both a structural process and technology-driven. So the first thing the government has proposed is to lift the threshold of VAT registration from GHS200,000 to GHS750,000 in respect of goods,” he said.
“This actually takes away the burden from small, micro and individual enterprises that struggle to keep the books as far as VAT is concerned.”
He added that the adjustment allows entrepreneurs to focus on building their businesses until they surpass the threshold, at which point VAT obligations will apply.
“We are lifting this away and we are saying focus on your business, deliver service. When you go above the threshold we will come and collect our taxes, but until you get there, just focus on your business,” he said. “So this is a big relief that is going to support our micro enterprises to focus on their businesses and do what they do best.”
Mr Sarpong’s remarks align with the government’s broader tax reform agenda outlined in the 2026 Budget, presented by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson. The budget includes several relief measures such as the abolition of the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, a reduction in the effective VAT rate from 21.9% to 20%, and the higher VAT threshold — initiatives expected to return an estimated GHS5.7 billion to businesses and households.
Dr Forson also announced plans to modernise the tax system through digital VAT monitoring tools, fiscal electronic devices, a VAT reward scheme, and a comprehensive overhaul of Ghana’s tax laws to align with global best practices.
Government maintains that these reforms will simplify compliance, plug revenue leakages, and position the private sector as a key driver of growth, job creation, and economic transformation.
