GRA Sets GH¢200bn Tax Target for 2025: Sarpong Unveils Bold Reset Plan

The Acting Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, has unveiled bold plans to mobilize GH¢200 billion in tax revenue by 2025 as part of Ghana’s ambitious economic recovery strategy.

Speaking during a live X Space conversation on May 6, themed “Resetting Ghana’s Revenue Mobilization,” Mr. Sarpong emphasized the need to bring more people into the tax net—especially from the informal sector—and to harness the power of technology to make that happen.

“We need to move with the times,” he said. “A lot of businesses now operate online, and our strategy is to use technology to capture that activity and widen our reach.”

The GRA’s approach includes teaming up with key national institutions like the Registrar of Companies and SSNIT.

These partnerships aim to make data-sharing seamless through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), helping GRA identify businesses that are flying under the radar.

“Many businesses are registered and even pay social security for their employees,” Sarpong noted, “but they don’t pay taxes. We want to change that by linking our systems and ensuring full compliance.”

A major challenge remains the informal sector, where most transactions go untracked. To tackle this, GRA is planning outreach programs and partnerships with informal sector associations to promote voluntary tax compliance.

The goal is to shift the culture and make tax payment a shared national responsibility.

The GH¢200 billion target is just one milestone. GRA is aiming higher, with a broader goal of raising GH¢360 billion by 2028 and boosting Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio from 13.8% to up to 18%.

These efforts build on reforms introduced since 2020, which have already seen tax revenue growth rates of 25% to 30%. But Mr. Sarpong insists that more must be done to expand the base, streamline collection systems, and ensure fair compliance.

“We’re not just chasing figures,” he said. “We want to build a sustainable, technology-driven tax system that supports national development.”

If successful, the GRA’s plan could mark a turning point in how Ghana funds its future—through smarter systems, broader inclusion, and a renewed sense of civic duty.