Government’s new artificial intelligence-driven customs system has lifted Ghana’s monthly customs revenue by about 17%, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has told Parliament, crediting tighter compliance, stronger enforcement and a sharp drop in leakages.
Delivering the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Thursday, 23 July, Dr. Forson said the administration had shifted focus from simply changing tax rates to using AI and wider digital tools to modernise customs operations and strengthen revenue mobilisation.
“Since the introduction of the AI-powered customs reforms, monthly customs revenue has increased by approximately 17%, reflecting stronger compliance, more effective enforcement, and significantly reduced leakages,” he said.
The Finance Minister stressed that the gain in customs receipts was being achieved without a parallel rise in headline tax rates, arguing that technology-led reforms were now driving the improvement in collections.
Tax refunds ‘no longer a slush fund’
Dr. Forson also revealed that the government had moved to tighten governance around tax refunds, saying it had “amended the misuse of the Tax Refund Account to ensure that resources intended for legitimate tax refunds were no longer used as a slush fund.”
He presented the change as part of a broader attempt to close loopholes and ensure that existing revenue is managed more transparently and aligned with its original purpose.
Despite the government’s choice to scrap what he described as unpopular levies and to avoid imposing fresh taxes, Dr. Forson said the reforms were already translating into stronger fiscal outcomes.
Non-oil tax revenue rises
According to the minister, non-oil tax revenue has risen by 0.5 percentage points of GDP, moving from 12.6% in 2024 to 13.1% in 2025.
He argued that the figures show government has been able to boost domestic revenue collections primarily through “efficiency-enhancing reforms” rather than by adding to the tax burden.
“Simply put, government collected more taxes in 2025 even after abolishing the nuisance taxes, including the E-Levy,” he told MPs.
Policy over higher taxes
Dr. Forson framed the developments as evidence that a strategy built on improved policy design, tighter oversight and digital innovation can generate more reliable income than repeated tax hikes.
He added: “The lesson here is simple: better policy, stronger compliance and smarter administration will always deliver more sustainable revenue than higher taxes.”
The minister did not announce any new taxes in the mid-year review, reiterating that the current approach is to consolidate gains from AI-powered customs reforms and other digital initiatives while maintaining the removal of what he called “nuisance taxes.”
