The Member of Parliament (MP) for New Juaben North Constituency, Nana Osei-Adjei, has expressed alarm over what he described as “very frightening” amounts of unpaid Value Added Tax (VAT) owed to the state.
The outstanding debt totals more than GH¢403 million, plus an additional $4 million that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has yet to collect from various entities.
The MP expressed his dissatisfaction with the recovery rate and admonished the Authority to clear the backlog before the next audit.
The MP’s statement highlighted the weak recovery of unpaid taxes in the country.
His concerns were raised when GRA appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), as part of the committee’s examination of the Auditor General’s Report for 2024.
Osei-Adjei later said he would be on the heels of the tax authority to do the needful so that Ghanaians would benefit.
GRA response and recovery efforts
In response to Osei-Adjei’s questioning, GRA Commissioner General Anthony Kwasi Sarpong provided an update on the Authority’s collection efforts.
He reported that significant progress had been made, with the GRA successfully recovering more than GH¢232 million of the outstanding GH¢403 million debt.
“Overall, the GRA has recovered 60.31% of the amounts owed,” Sarpong told PAC, adding that GRA continues to pursue the remaining outstanding amounts through various mechanisms.
Parliamentary oversight
PAC serves as one of Parliament’s primary accountability mechanisms, scrutinising government financial management and the implementation of audit recommendations.
The current series of public hearings ran from Monday, August 19, through Monday, August 25, 2025.
The committee is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, September 29, 2025, to continue its oversight work on the 2024 Auditor General’s findings.
Only 39 per cent Ghanaians pay tax
Ghana is facing a significant fiscal challenge as recent data reveals that a staggering 61% of its Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue remains uncollected.
This has resulted in the country collecting only about 39 per cent of its potential tax revenue.
This alarming shortfall is deepening the country’s already precarious revenue situation and threatening to derail government efforts to finance development through domestic resource mobilisation.
