No new taxes in 2027 Budget as government unveils US$10bn New Economy plan
ACCRA, Nov. 13 – The government will introduce no new tax in 2027 and plans to invest US$10 billion over four years in a New Economy programme, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson told Parliament on Thursday, as the Minority branded the Budget a “paper economy” that would not ease hardship in people’s pockets.
Presenting the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, Dr Forson said: “This 2027 Budget will not introduce any new tax. Our task is to collect what is lawfully due, close the leakages and make the revenue system work better,” according to the Daily Graphic and a Ghana News Agency report.
The Budget, themed “The New Economy, New Ghana, Jobs and Prosperity”, seeks approval to spend GH¢389.2 billion, or 21.6 per cent of GDP. Revenue and grants are projected at GH¢323.4 billion, or 17.9 per cent of GDP. The overall cash deficit is put at GH¢65.8 billion, equivalent to 3.6 per cent of GDP.
The government is targeting overall real GDP growth of at least 5.2 per cent next year, non-oil growth of at least 5.7 per cent, and end-year inflation of 8 per cent plus or minus two percentage points.
Dr Forson said that, since 2025, the government had abolished the E-Levy, the withholding tax on betting and lottery winnings, the COVID-19 Levy, the Emissions Levy and VAT on motor vehicle insurance. Total revenue and grants from January to October 2026 reached GH¢219.3 billion, 3.5 per cent above target, while expenditure of GH¢239 billion was 7.6 per cent below the programmed amount. Provisional public debt stood at GH¢759.3 billion at the end of October, or 47.5 per cent of GDP.
US$10 billion New Economy programme
The centrepiece of the statement is a four-year New Economy programme running from 2027 to 2030. Dr Forson said the government would spend US$10 billion over the period to expand production, process more resources at home and create jobs. In 2027 it will invest 1.5 per cent of GDP, equivalent to GH¢30 billion, financed by reducing the primary surplus target by one percentage point of GDP and by already approved tax reforms and compliance measures expected to yield a further 0.5 per cent of GDP.
The programme rests on eight pillars: macroeconomic stability and affordable finance; commercial agriculture; energy infrastructure; critical minerals value addition; tourism, culture and the creative arts; textiles and garments; pharmaceuticals and biomanufacturing; and the technology economy. According to Citi Newsroom, the largest allocations are US$3 billion for commercial agriculture, US$2.2 billion for energy and US$1.5 billion for critical minerals.
Minority calls Budget a ‘paper economy’
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament immediately after the presentation, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the Budget offered “stability on paper but hardship in our pockets”. He argued that claims of growth and lower inflation had not brought down food prices or created enough jobs, and cited high prices at markets including Kotokoraba, Koforidua, Tamale Aboabo, Kumasi Asafo and Winneba Central.
“The NDC cannot rebrand unemployment and they cannot slogan away the cost of living,” he said, according to the Daily Graphic. “It is not data that Ghanaians are going to consume. Ghanaians want jobs, jobs, jobs. We are not interested in data. We are not interested in a paper economy.”
He also questioned how the New Economy differed from the government’s 24-hour Economy policy, and said the presentation had not made clear how much of the US$10 billion would be available in 2027 or which projects it would finance. The Finance Minister had already announced a GH¢30 billion allocation for next year.
