A Ghanaian tax expert has called on the government to review the nation’s tax regime regarding the personal reliefs under the income tax law, warning that the current system does not adequately relieve families from financial pressure and may strain the fabric of marriage.
Ismail Ibn Ibrahim, Esq., an adjunct lecturer in Tax and Revenue Law at the GIMPA Law School, told participants at the Marriage Governance Conference on August 19, 2025, that “the reliefs available under the law are not enough to support marriage and family life” and in urgent need of reform.
Delivering a presentation titled “Lower Taxes and Marriage Incentives: A Government Approach to Supporting Marriage and Family Life,”he argued that the financial challenges of which taxes play a major role —not infidelity or emotional distance—has become the most severe test of modern marriages.
Mr. Ibn Ibrahim explained that under Ghana’s Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system, individuals may have an effective tax rate of no less than 20 percent of their income. While a series of reliefs are technically available to taxpayers—ranging from deductions for dependent spouses and children to modest allowances for retirees, mortgage interest, and education expenses—their value has remained stagnant for years. In a climate of persistent inflation and rising living costs, he said, these measures “provide little real benefit” to households.
The strain is compounded by Ghana’s layered system of indirect taxes on consumption. Families, he noted, confront 15 percent VAT, 2.5 percent National Health Insurance Levy, 2.5 percent GETFund Levy, a one percent COVID-19 Levy under the Standard VAT, and a three percent VAT plus COVID-19 Levy under the Flat Rate Scheme—all applied to everyday essentials. These levies, he emphasized, are unavoidable and steadily erode disposable income, worsening financial stress across households.
To alleviate this pressure and strengthen family life, Mr. Ibn Ibrahim urged the government to:
• Periodically review and update personal reliefs to reflect economic realities.
• Exempt childcare essentials such as baby diapers from VAT.
• Reintroduce tax exemptions for gifts exchanged between spouses, children, and close relatives.
• Permit joint tax filing for married couples to improve fairness and reduce abuse of reliefs.
• Restore exemptions on capital gains arising from intra-family transfers of assets.
• Expand available reliefs to include Rent Relief, Disabled Child Relief, and Nominal Transportation Relief.
Through his presentation, he underscored that government tax policies have a direct impact on family stability. With marriages already straining under financial burdens, he argued for reforms that recognize marriage as a public good that deserves state support.
The conference, organized by MarryRight Ghana, closed with a clear message meaningful tax reform is not only an economic necessity but also a social imperative for the protection of families in Ghana.
