Gov't grants Arts, Entertainment and Hospitality industry tax break in 2021 Budget

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who read Ghana's 2021 budget today as interim Finance Minister made this known during the economic policy presentation in Parliament on Friday, March 12, 2021.

He said the government will “provide Corporate Income Tax rebate of 30% to companies hard hit by Covid-19 pandemic for Quarter 2 to Quarter 4 of 2021. Targeted companies include those in the accommodation and food services, Education, Arts and Entertainment, and Travel and Tour operators.”

According to the Minister, the tax exemptions given to these companies will not derail the government’s revenue mobilization for the 2021 fiscal year. He explained that “in the medium-term, we will pursue revenue-enhancing measures with a focus on deepening our digitalisation agenda both on transactions on goods and services as well as on the tax collection machinery as part of measures to broaden the tax base and rope in a lot more eligible taxpayers into the tax net".

He also noted that "expenditures will be rationalized through the implementation of tighter expenditure control systems with a more efficient procurement system to ensure value for money. We will also pursue structural reforms in the public finance management system to improve efficiency in public service delivery".