Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam
The Minority in Parliament has accused the government of imposing an austerity regime through excessive taxation, warning that the economic burden being transferred to ordinary Ghanaians is unsustainable and unjust.
According to them, within the first seven months of 2025, the government has introduced or increased at least ten separate taxes, turning fiscal consolidation into what they describe as “revenue extraction by compulsion.”
The claim was made in a statement delivered by Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee and immediate past Minister of Finance, during a Minority press conference on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review yesterday in Parliament.
Dr. Adam said the raft of taxes – ranging from utility hikes to levies on insurance, gaming, and imports –reveals a government more focused on squeezing the public than rebuilding the economy.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented level of taxation within a very short period, without corresponding improvements in social protection, public services, or job creation,” he declared.
Among the tax measures cited by the Minority are new or increased levies on water and electricity; repeated upward adjustments in fuel taxes; a 5% tax on insurance premiums; higher taxes on betting, gaming, and digital winnings; and VAT extensions to previously exempt items such as sanitary pads and educational materials.
The rest are increased charges on business registration and services; a proposed “Dumsor Levy” hidden in the Energy Sector Recovery Framework; and rising port charges affecting the importation of food and vehicles.
Dr. Amin Adam described these as regressive taxes that disproportionately harm the poor and vulnerable. “This government’s obsession with tax revenue is not about restoring fiscal balance – it is about transferring the cost of its mismanagement to the suffering masses,” he said.
The Minority pointed out that despite these tax increases, the government still missed its revenue target for the first half of 2025 by GH¢3 billion. According to Dr. Adam, this shortfall exposes the failure of the government’s revenue strategy, which ignores the principles of equity, efficiency, and economic productivity.
He argued that aggressive taxation is being used as a substitute for genuine structural reforms. “What we are witnessing is not fiscal discipline. It is a crude and lazy approach to raising revenue while ignoring inefficiencies, leakages, and unproductive expenditures,” Dr. Adam noted.
He further accused the government of mismanaging the economic recovery, stating that while taxes are increasing, there is little to show by way of improved public service delivery, infrastructure development, or job creation. “People are paying more, but getting less. This is not consolidation; it is economic punishment,” he stressed.
According to him, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the informal sector, and working-class households are said to be bearing the brunt of the new taxes.
The former Finance Minister cited widespread complaints from transport operators, market women, and young entrepreneurs who say they are unable to keep up with the rising cost of operations due to cumulative tax pressure.
The Minority questioned the economic logic of taxing critical sectors like insurance and gaming, which have been key to expanding financial inclusion and youth livelihoods. “Even sectors that should be incentivised are now being overburdened with taxes. This is short-sighted and counterproductive,” they warned.
Dr. Amin Adam also criticised the government’s enforcement approach, which he described as coercive and unsympathetic. “Taxation under this regime has become punitive, not participatory. The citizen is treated as a mere source of revenue, not a stakeholder in the economy,” he asserted.
He urged the government to reassess its fiscal direction ahead of the 2026 Budget. “The Ghanaian people cannot continue to bear the weight of this government’s failures. We call for the immediate withdrawal of these draconian tax measures and a shift towards policies that promote productivity, equity, and shared growth,” he said.
The Minority pledged to resist any further attempts to impose what they called “stealth taxes” through service charges and levies disguised as administrative fees. They also called on civil society organisations, labour unions, and professional bodies to speak out against the trend.
“The people are being taxed into poverty. Enough is enough,” Dr. Adam concluded.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House