GHANA is to review the way it grants corporate tax exemptions to mining companies as it seeks to stamp out fraud and in order to boost its revenues, said Reuters which quoted the comments of Mahamudu Bawumla, the country’s vice president.
“Improper accounting of resources on the part of concessionaires is major source of revenue loss and it is for this reason that we are reviewing the exemption process to enhance transparency and efficiency,” he said.
In February, the country announced it would begin assaying gold exports in order to ensure it was receiving its fair share of the minerals mined from the country.
“We have now begun conversations about the process of making sure every single bar of gold leaving our shores is properly weighed, tested, valued and accounted for… ” Bawumia was then quoted to have said. The government was also considering passing legislation stating that at least 50% of Ghana’s gold output would be refined locally within five years.
Tanzania last year imposed a ban on gold-in-concentrate exports by Acacia Resources which it said owed the government tens of billions in dollars in unpaid tax. It argued that Acacia had under-estimated the value of its exports – an allegation the company denied. The gold concentrate export ban resulted in Acacia mothballing its Bulyanhulu mine. There are now potential talks to sell a stake in the mines, possibly to a Chinese investor.
