The Ghana Chamber of Mines has pushed back against claims that Ghana’s mining sector is undertaxed, arguing instead that the country imposes one of the highest fiscal burdens on mining companies globally.
In a statement issued on April 20, 2026, the Chamber said Ghana’s current mining fiscal regime yields an effective tax rate (ETR) of nearly 60% under prevailing assumptions, placing the country among the most heavily taxed mining jurisdictions in the world.
The Chamber’s response follows recent assertions by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), which characterised Ghana’s framework as a royalty-based system and questioned recent adjustments to the Growth and Sustainability Levy (GSL).
Rejecting this position, the Chamber clarified that Ghana operates a royalty–tax regime, not a royalty-only model, with multiple fiscal instruments applied across revenue, profits, and dividends.
These include mineral royalties ranging from 5 to 12%, a 1% GSL on mineral revenue, a 35 percent corporate income tax, and state participation through dividends from free carried interest.
“Collectively, these instruments ensure that the Government captures value at different stages of the mining value chain—irrespective of profitability,” the statement noted.
However, the Chamber warned that the cumulative effect of these taxes is placing significant pressure on mining operations, particularly for high-cost and marginal mines, as several of the levies are applied on gross revenue and are not sensitive to operational costs.
It further cautioned that excessive reliance on overlapping revenue-based taxes could undermine Ghana’s competitiveness in attracting mining investment and, ultimately, reduce government revenue over the long term.
“The adjustment of the GSL from 3% to 1%, while directionally appropriate, is inadequate to offset the cumulative burden imposed by the current fiscal structure,” the Chamber stated.
The industry body is therefore urging the government to recalibrate the fiscal regime to strike a balance between short-term revenue mobilisation and long-term sustainability of the mining sector.
The Chamber emphasised that maintaining fiscal stability, predictability, and competitiveness is critical to sustaining investment in what it described as a capital-intensive and globally mobile industry.
