President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has signed into law the three new tax bills recently passed by Parliament.

The three new taxes are the Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022, the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, 2022, and the Income Tax Amendment Bill 2022.

His action now paves the way for the implantation of the bills.

Parliament passed the bills on Friday, April 3, 2023,  under the certificates of urgency and projected to complement the government’s efforts to raise more than GH¢4 billion annually.

The Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, which will impose a 20 per cent tax on cigarettes and e-smoking devices, as well as sweetened beverages, spirits, and wines, is projected to rake in about GH¢400 million annually, while the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill will generate about GH¢1.2 billion.

The Growth and Sustainability (Amendment) Bill, which will replace the National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy that currently imposes a levy on companies operating in selected sectors, is also projected to raise about GH¢2.2 billion.

The National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy itself replaced the National Reconstruction Levy, 2001 (Act 597) and the National Reconstruction Levy (Amendment) Act, 2005 (Act 687), which imposed a 1.5 per cent non-deductible levy on profits before tax of all companies, except rural and community banks.