John Mahama the presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has lied to Ghanaians with a claim he made on a campaign platform.
John Mahama, speaking at a campaign event in Okaikoi South, claimed that Ghana has the highest tax burden in West Africa, and has made neighboring Cote d Ivoire more appealing for investors around the world.
John Mahama stated, “If you look across the whole of West Africa, Ghana pays more taxes than any other country. Listen to me. When a white man comes and says that he wants to start a business in West Africa when he looks at the taxes paid in Cote d’Ivoire and the taxes paid in Ghana, where will he take his business?”
“He will take it [the business] to Cote d’Ivoire because their taxes are very low. That is why we have said the NDC must reduce taxes”, he added.
Information gathered from the Tax Foundation’s 2023 report and supporting data from World Population Review and Trading Economics suggest Guinea has the highest corporate tax rate in West Africa at 35%.
Several findings on the three main tax rates, that is the corporate tax, personal income, and Value added tax, show clearly Ghana does not have the highest tax burden in West Africa.
Guinea, Senegal, and Nigeria exceed Ghana’s in both corporate and personal income tax rates in countries.
Also, Côte d’Ivoire’s tax rates are not lower than Ghana’s as claimed, both countries have the same corporate tax of 25%, and personal income tax in Ghana is pegged at 30% while Côte d’Ivoire’s is between 1.5 to 80%, with Ghana value-added tax of 12.5% to 15% slightly lower than Côte d’Ivoire’s 18%.
Therefore, John Mahama’s claim that Ghana pays the highest taxes in West Africa is FALSE.
