Income Taxes
The top personal income-tax rate is only 30 percent, but that rate is encountered at an income
threshold of $5,400 per year. The 20 percent rate hits at $2,700 and the 15 percent rate hits
at $270 per year. In addition, Ghanians pay a 12.5 percent Value Added Tax VAT. There is also
a "wealth tax," currently suspended, but which could come back at any moment. Even the cloud of
a wealth tax discourages the accumulation of wealth.
2005 Budget
- Corporate tax reduces from 32.5 per cent to 28 per cent.
2004 Budget
- Increase in the minimum tax free threshold from 1.2 million to 1.5 million
- Reduction in corporate income tax rate from 32.5 percent to 30 percent effective next financial year.
- Special tax rate of 25 percent for companies listing on Stock Exchange for the first time
- 5-year tax holiday for new agro-processing firms
- Revised taxes for agro-processing as follows:
- Accra and Tema - 20 percent
- Other Regional Capitals - 10 percent
- Outside Regional Capitals - zero
- For 3 Northern Regions zero tax rates for Agro-processing firms irrespective of location
- 7-year tax holiday for waste processing enterprises
- 5-year tax holiday for companies investing in production of cocoa industrial by-products
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