Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson says the government’s deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in customs administration has increased monthly customs revenue by approximately 17 per cent, while strengthening compliance and reducing revenue leakages.
Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, Dr. Forson said the government has prioritised technology-driven reforms to improve revenue mobilisation instead of imposing new taxes on Ghanaians.
According to him, the AI-powered customs system has enhanced enforcement and significantly improved the efficiency of revenue collection.
“Since the introduction of the AI-powered customs reforms, monthly customs revenue has increased by approximately 17 per cent, reflecting stronger compliance, more effective enforcement and significantly reduced leakages,” he told Parliament.
Dr. Forson also announced reforms to the Tax Refund Account, saying the government has ended the misuse of funds meant for legitimate tax refunds.
“We amended the misuse of the Tax Refund Account to ensure that resources intended for legitimate tax refunds are no longer used as a slush fund,” he said.
The Finance Minister noted that the reforms have yielded positive fiscal outcomes despite the abolition of several taxes and the government’s decision not to introduce new ones.
He disclosed that non-oil tax revenue increased from 12.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024 to 13.1 per cent in 2025, representing a 0.5 percentage point increase.
Dr. Forson said the improvement demonstrates that government can generate more domestic revenue through efficient administration rather than increasing the tax burden on citizens.
“Simply put, government collected more taxes in 2025 even after abolishing the nuisance taxes, including the E-Levy,” he stated.
He maintained that stronger compliance, effective policy implementation and smarter tax administration provide a more sustainable path to increasing government revenue than imposing higher taxes.
“The lesson here is simple: better policy, stronger compliance and smarter administration will always deliver more sustainable revenue than higher taxes,” the Finance Minister said.
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