By Francis Kobena Tandoh
Former Finance Minister Alhaji Dr. Mohammad Amin Adam says cutting down taxes on petroleum products will not adversely affect the government’s 2026 budget.
His comments come on the back of increasing calls on the government by some Civil Society (CSOs) and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to reduce taxes on petroleum products as pump prices continue to rise over the last one month.
The main driver group, and others have warned they may be compelled to pass additional costs they are incurring on passengers if the government failed to listen to their concerns.
In a post on his Facebook page, Dr. Amin Adam, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Karaga, argued that the current global oil price dynamics provide sufficient fiscal space for the government to cushion consumers with fuel tax relief.
“The calls for government to intervene by reducing the levies/taxes on petroleum products are therefore well placed, as this will not adversely affect the budget. What the government has not told Ghanaians is that it has been gaining from the increase in international crude oil prices since the US-Israel-Iran War started,” said Dr. Amin Adam.
To support his argument, the former finance minister said, “On page 100 of the 2026 Budget Statement, the projected Benchmark Crude Oil Price for Ghana’s oil exports was $76.22 per barrel, whilst the 2026 Benchmark crude oil output is estimated at 37.95million barrels (103,959.78 barrels of crude oil per day), based on annual production forecast of each producing field’s outputs in line with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act. This is the government share of the total crude oil output.
We all know crude oil prices have been above $100 per barrel for most of March 2026, which is significantly above the budget projection. At these prices, the government is gaining additional windfall revenue of more than GHS8 billion this year.
“Revenue shortfalls from reducing petroleum taxes will be recovered from the new additional revenue from Ghana’s share of crude oil exports,” he added. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
