Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former President John Dramani Mahama have both advocated for a simplified tax structure to facilitate easier calculation and adherence.

As the standard-bearers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) respectively, they expressed their intention to implement new tax frameworks aimed at alleviating the burden on businesses should they assume office.

These sentiments on tax reform were shared during their addresses to business leaders and investors at the 8th CEO Summit, themed "Reigniting Business and Economic Growth: Charting a Path Forward."

Dr. Bawumia highlighted that many Ghanaian businesses struggle with understanding the computation and components of taxes paid to the Ghana Revenue Authority, often resulting in disputes between tax authorities and business proprietors.

“I believe Ghana would benefit from a flat tax system as it makes it very easy, makes it very transparent and easy to comply and understand,” he said.

He pledged to introduce a tax amnesty that would write off tax obligations of businesses and households within a certain period so “we start afresh on a clean slate.”

“I also want to realign our import duty regime towards flat taxes in cedis on import duty so that there is predictability on our import duties. And I also want to realign our Ghana import regime to what persist with our nearest competitor, thus the port of Lome,” he said.

Mr. Mahama stressed the importance of establishing a reasonable threshold for taxation to avoid overburdening law-abiding citizens and businesses while ensuring full compliance with tax obligations to the state.

He promised that if elected president, he would simplify the Value Added Tax (VAT) and modernize its collection through the use of Point of Sale (POS) devices to enhance transparency.

“We will abolish the e-levy and some taxes that have become a burden on businesses and households. And we will not burden you with endless tax audits and harass you with the Economic and Organised Crime Office,” he said.