Ghana’s gold mining sector has paid the government GH₵54.74 billion, equivalent to more than $7.5 billion, in taxes, royalties and dividends over the decade from 2014 to 2024, according to data from the Ghana Chamber of Mines, figures that sharpen the stakes around the government’s recent decision to reduce a key mining levy.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) raised the alarm at a press briefing in Accra this week, warning that cutting the Growth and Sustainability Levy (GSL) from three percent to one percent at a moment of record global gold prices and expiring mining leases amounts to surrendering fiscal ground the country cannot easily recover.
Parliament passed the Growth and Sustainability Levy Amendment Bill, 2026 on March 14, reducing the levy imposed on gold mining companies from three percent of gross production to one percent, as a cushion to offset the financial burden introduced by the new sliding-scale royalty framework under the Minerals and Mining Royalty Regulations, 2025.
The Chamber of Mines data shows that of the GH₵54.74 billion paid over the decade, corporate income taxes alone contributed GH₵30.51 billion under the 35 percent corporate tax regime applicable to mining firms. Mineral royalties added GH₵15.06 billion, employee income taxes GH₵6.83 billion, dividends GH₵2.05 billion, and taxes from self-employed workers linked to the sector a further GH₵4.38 billion.
The IEA’s concern is that the levy reduction undercuts the revenue gains the government simultaneously sought to achieve through the new sliding-scale royalty regime. Justice Akuffo described the approach as “Kwaku Ananse Mathematics,” arguing that the logic of raising royalties while cutting the levy amounts to moving money from one pocket to another.
With gold trading above $4,500 per ounce, Ghana is currently earning at the top royalty rate of 12 percent under the new regime. The Deputy Finance Minister, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, explained that the GSL reduction was designed to offset the effect of those higher royalty brackets, with the levy cut intended to cater for windfall taxes as gold prices rise.
The IEA is not persuaded. The institute argues the country is entering a critical window, with more than 30 mining leases nearing expiration and new discoveries of critical minerals, that demands a more assertive, not more accommodating, fiscal posture. It is urging government to stop renewing expiring mining leases under the existing royalty model and instead move toward full state ownership of mineral resources, with private firms engaged strictly through service contracts.
Justice Akuffo also questioned the terms of the recently ratified Ewoyaa lithium lease. The IEA raised concerns over the 15-year lease granted to Barari DV Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium, arguing the agreement locks Ghana into a royalty-based structure over a concession of more than 42 square kilometres with virtually no actual state participation.
