Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Minister-designate for the Ministry of Finance, has pledged to improve tax compliance to increase Ghana's tax revenue to 16% of GDP without raising taxes.

During his vetting before the Appointments Committee of Parliament, chaired by Bernard Ahiafor, Dr. Forson expressed confidence in Ghana's untapped revenue potential, emphasizing the need for enhanced compliance measures.

"We can do better. I have studied the Ghanaian economy for some time, and I can say without mincing words that Ghana has huge potential when it comes to tax revenue mobilisation," he stated.

He added that the focus would be on working closely with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the tax policy unit of the Ministry of Finance to improve compliance and revenue collection.

"We don't necessarily have to increase taxes before you rake in revenue. What we need to do is improve compliance. I will work with the GRA and the tax policy unit to ensure we increase compliance and raise the revenue as much as we can," he noted.

Outlining his vision, he stated, "In the medium term, it is my vision, when approved, to increase the tax revenue from 13.8 percent of GDP to about 16 to 18 percent."

Dr. Forson also reaffirmed the government's commitment to eliminating certain taxes while remaining focused on revenue generation. "We have announced that we are going to scrap certain taxes. We will stick to just that, but it doesn't mean we don't care about revenue. We care about it, and we will have to do more," he stressed.

His vetting came as part of the process following President John Dramani Mahama's nomination of three key ministers, including John Abdulai Jinapor for the Ministry of Energy and Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine for the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.