Government Pegs 2020 Revenue Target At GH¢67Bn

The Akufo-Addo government has set total revenue and grants for 2020 at GH¢67.1 billion, representing 16.8% of GDP.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced in Parliament on Wednesday during the 2020 budget that a chunk of this target, some GH¢65.8 billion, will be from domestic revenue.

This new target looks unrealistically ambitious because over the years the government has failed to meet its revenue targets.

This year, for instance, total revenue and grants in the first half of 2019 reached GH¢22.77 billion, below the project target of GH¢26.96 billion, representing 15.5 per cent shortfall.

Experts fear that it is likely that 2019 target of GH¢58.8 billion will be missed.

2020 revenue target

Although no new taxes will be introduced in the 2020 budget statement to shore up the revenue mobilisation efforts, the Finance Minister told legislators that a complete review of Ghana’s structure will ensure that the government meets its 2020 revenue targets.

The government, meanwhile, hopes to spend GH¢85.9 billion in 2020, suggesting that it will spend GH¢18.8 billion more than the revenue it will generate next year.

Below is a summary of the government’s fiscal operation from 2019 to 2023.

source: myjoyonline