Compliance Burden and Tax Gap Among Micro and Small Businesses: Evidence From Ghana

James Peprah, Francis Andoh, Eric Avorkpo, Kwabena Nkansah Dafor, Benedict Afful and Camara Kwasi Obeng

SAGE Open, 2022, vol. 12, issue 4, 21582440221126985

Abstract: The question of how much of the potential tax revenue is actually obtained remains very critical in Ghana’s efforts to improve domestic revenue mobilization. This paper computes and examines tax gap and compliance burden among micro and small businesses which constitute more than 90% of Ghana’s informal economy. Using data on 485 businesses in Ghana, the study finds that while some businesses underpay their taxes, surprisingly others actually pay more than expected. The average tax gap is computed to be about GHC 109.2 (US$19.2). Small businesses are associated with a higher tax gap of 24.9% compared to their micro counterparts. Moreover, we find that as compliance burden increases, the tax gap also increases, albeit significant variation in the effect of compliance burden on tax gap across regions and different tax handles. JEL Classification: H25, H26, H27, H32

Keywords: compliance burden; compliance cost; micro and small enterprises; potential tax; tax gap; Ghana (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:4:p:21582440221126985

DOI: 10.1177/21582440221126985

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