CORPORATE TAXES
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS
A value-added tax has been introduced as of December 30,1998 to replace the former service and sales taxes.
TAXES ON CORPORATE INCOME
National income tax is payable on the following.
1.Income accruing in, derived from, brought into, or received in Ghan in respect of gain or profits from a trade, business, profession, or vocation.
2.Dividends, interest or discounts.
3.Any charge or annuity.
4.Royalties, premiums and any other profits arising from property, including rents.
5.Receipts, including royalties and deferred payments of any kind.
The corporate tax rate is 35% for all categories of companies otherthan companies engaged in nontraditional export and rural banking (8%), bank lenders to the agricultural sector(20%) and companies in the hotel industry (25%).
CORPORATE RESIDENCE
Corporate residence is determined by where the trade, business,
profession, or vocation is carried on, so that where a nonresident corporate body carries on any trade, business, profession, or vocation in Ghana (part of the operations of which may be carried on outside Ghana), the full gains or profits of the trade, business, profession, or vocation are deemed to be derived from Ghana.
If the corporate body's activities are carried on entirely outside Ghana, the mere supply of goods or services to Ghana does not constitute carrying on trade or business in Ghana.
OTHER TAXES
Gift tax/Gift tax rates vary from nil to 15%, where the value of the gift exceeds GHC50,000.
VAT/service tax/Entertainment;betting;accommodation and food in hotels; food in restaurants and snack bars; and advertisements, which formerly attracted a 15% service tax, are now subject to VAT at 10%. Most professional services are also subject to 10% VAT. These include the following.
Management services Legal services
Insurance brokerage and other services Provision of satellite television
Financial, tax and economic consulting Architectural services
Engineering and technical services Mobile cellular phone services
Accounting services Services rendered by surveyors
Courier services
Exports of goods and services are zero-rated.
Capital gains/Capital gains are subject to tax at 5%. However, gains on stocks and shares listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and those resulting from a merger,amalgamation, reorganization, reconstruction, etc., are, for the time being, exempt from tax.
Other taxes/Other taxes include customs and excise duties, rent tax, and real estate (property) tax.
BRANCH INCOME
The rates on branch profits are the same as on corporate profits. However, theprofits for the period deemed to arise in connection with the operations of the branch may, at the discretion of the tax authorities, be computed by reference to the total consolidated profits of the whole group, taking into account the proportion that the turnover of that branch bears to the total consolidated turnover of the group.
INCOME DETERMINATION
Inventory valuation/There is no statutory guidance on the principles of stock valuation for income tax purposes. Any method of valuation of stock (inventory) and work-in-progress based on sound accounting principles is acceptable, provided it is adopted and consistently applied from one period to another. In practice, inventory is normally valued for tax purposes at the lower of cost and net realizable value.
Capital gains/A capital gains tax is payable by every person, including a corporate body, on any capital gain accruing or derived from the realization of any chargeable asset, including buildings of a permanent or temporary nature; business and business assets, including goodwill; land other than agricultural land; and any assets declared as chargeable by legislative instrument made under the law. See" Other taxes" above.
Intercompany dividends/The gross dividends received by one Ghanaian company from another, whether or not a subsidiary of the company, are normally exempt from corporate income tax if the dividends were taxed in the first instance.
Foreign income/Resident corporations are taxed on their foreign income as and when it is brought into or received in Ghana. Foreign income is taxed together with other income derived in Ghana, and double taxation is avoided by either treaties or foreign tax credits. There are no special ules for taxing undistributed income of foreign subsidiaries.
Stock dividends/The issue of stock dividends is permitted under Section 74(1) of the Ghana Companies Code 1963, Act 179. It
[1] [2] [3] [4] 下一页
