By Issah Mohammed, GNA
Accra, Aug. 14, GNA – Mr Patrick Stephenson, Country Manager of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), has urged government to improve tax mobilisation from artisanal and small-scale mining to boost domestic revenue.
He said the sector now accounted for a significant share of Ghana’s gold production, but its contribution to state revenue remained relatively low.
Mr Stephenson made the call at a policy dialogue on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review organised by the Tax Justice Coalition-Ghana in Accra.
He said domestic revenue mobilisation discussions often focused on introducing new tax measures, although significant opportunities existed within the extractive sector, particularly artisanal and small-scale mining.
Mr Stephenson noted recent developments in the mining industry suggested that small-scale miners accounted for a larger share of gold production than previously recognised.
“The question is not whether the sector is producing. The question is whether the revenue system is capturing the value being generated within the sector,” he said.
Mr Stephenson said Ghana needed to reconsider how it conceptualised formality and informality within the mining industry.
He noted that many operators classified as informal were engaged in significant commercial activities.
Mr Stephenson said the traditional approach to defining formal businesses often excluded economically active enterprises that generated substantial incomes but remained outside conventional regulatory and tax frameworks.
“We have to think differently about how we identify and engage economic actors within the sector if we want to improve tax mobilisation,” he said.
Mr Stephenson said recent policy measures in the gold sector had revealed production volumes that were previously not fully reflected in official systems, suggesting that significant economic activity existed beyond the reach of existing revenue collection mechanisms.
He said improving revenue collection from the sector would require policies that encouraged compliance and enhanced reporting.
Mr Stephenson said recent reforms in the minerals sector, including efforts to increase the state’s share of revenue during periods of high commodity prices, could enable Ghana to derive greater benefits from rising global gold prices while securing a fair share of proceeds from its natural resources.
He said the country’s fiscal challenges made it imperative to maximise revenue from existing economic activities rather than relying solely on additional taxes.
Mr Stephenson urged policymakers to explore innovative approaches to revenue mobilisation within the extractive sector as part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation.
Mr Benedict Doh, National Coordinator of the Tax Justice Coalition-Ghana, identified illicit financial flows (IFFs) as one of the major challenges undermining revenue collection.
He said the increasing movement of illicit funds out of the country continued to deprive the state of resources that could otherwise be invested in infrastructure, education, healthcare and other essential public services.
“There is the need for all of us to think through and identify measures that can help address and curb illicit financial flows,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Issah Mohammed