Former Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Alex Ampaabeng has strongly criticized the government’s plan to utilize funds from the Tax Refund Account as a revenue source, calling the idea “absurd” and unsustainable.
Dr. Ampaabeng questioned the feasibility of depending on tax refund reserves to bridge revenue shortfalls, arguing that the account is not an independent revenue-generating entity.
His comments come in response to Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s disclosure during the presentation of the 2025 budget. According to Dr. Forson, Ghana’s Tax Refund Account had accumulated GH¢29.1 billion over the past eight years.
Out of this amount, GH¢12 billion had been disbursed for tax refunds, leaving an outstanding balance of GH¢16 billion, which he claimed had been either misapplied or remained unaccounted for.
Dr. Forson assured Ghanaians that the Mahama-led administration would ensure transparency in the use of the funds, suggesting that they could be tapped into to support government revenue.
However, speaking on the OXFAM Tax Dialogue on Channel One TV, where the discussion focused on The Tax Implication of the 2025 Budget, Dr. Ampaabeng dismissed this assertion, explaining that tax refunds are not meant to generate new revenue for the government.
“The issue that I have with the Finance Minister is that the tax refund will make up for the revenue losses. The tax refund account is not money sitting somewhere aside government revenue. In Ghana, the law is such that businesses have to divide their taxes into four and pay quarterly, and because it is not based on assessment as in other countries, you are bound to overpay the taxes. So, the law says 6 percent of that should be set aside so that if somebody overpays their taxes, you use that money to pay them.
“And so, this practice does not automatically create new revenue, but what it does is that it makes the money available rather than waiting until the end of the year. And so, if you are looking to bridge the revenue gap and say you are going to rely on the tax refund account, it is like expecting money to come from nowhere into the refund account,” he explained.
Dr. Ampaabeng’s comments highlight ongoing concerns about government revenue strategies, emphasizing the need for sustainable fiscal policies rather than short-term fixes.
