The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has said it is deepening the use of data analytics in tax administration, stressing that modern statistical tools will be critical to improving revenue mobilisation, strengthening compliance and supporting evidence-based decision-making.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 GRA Statistics and Data Analysts’ Seminar in Ho, the Technical Advisor to the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Elsie Appau-Klu, said the country’s revenue administration system must evolve to keep pace with a rapidly changing and increasingly digital economy.
Delivering a speech on behalf of the Commissioner-General, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, she noted that Ghana continues to face significant revenue mobilisation challenges, with the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio remaining below potential.
She disclosed that only about half of the expected Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue is currently being collected, while corporate income tax performance also remains below expectations.
“The traditional tools of tax administration remain important, but they are no longer sufficient on their own,” she said.
According to her, the expansion of digital transactions, mobile money, e-commerce, and the growing use of artificial intelligence are transforming the economy and creating new challenges for tax administrators.
“As the economy becomes increasingly digital, tax administration must become increasingly intelligent, responsive and data-driven,” she added.
The five-day seminar, which runs from August 18 to August 22 at the Volta Serene Hotel, is being held under the theme, “The Modern Statistician: Driving Revenue Growth Through Data Analytics.”
Four key roles for modern statisticians
Mrs Appau-Klu said statisticians and data analysts within the GRA are moving beyond their traditional role of producing periodic reports to become central contributors to strategy, forecasting, policy formulation, and compliance management.
She identified four critical roles for modern statisticians: detectives, risk managers, policy advisers and guardians of data integrity.
As detectives, she said analysts should use data to identify untapped segments of the economy, uncover emerging business activities and detect inconsistencies between economic activity and tax performance.
Questions such as who remains outside the tax net, which sectors are underperforming and where new opportunities for revenue growth exist should be answered through data-driven analysis, she explained.
On risk management, she said the Authority will harness analytical tools to identify high-risk sectors, unusual compliance patterns, and emerging tax threats.
She explained that effective risk management would enable the Authority to allocate resources more efficiently while reducing unnecessary compliance burdens on taxpayers who are meeting their obligations.
Data to shape policy decisions
Mrs Appau-Klu also urged analysts to become active policy advisers by measuring the impact of tax reforms, compliance interventions and taxpayer education programmes.
According to her, tax policy decisions should be supported by rigorous modelling rather than intuition.
“It is not enough to say that a campaign was conducted or that a programme was implemented. We must also be able to say, ‘What changed because we did it?'” she said.
She further emphasised the importance of data integrity, warning that poor-quality data could undermine decision-making and lead to ineffective policies.
As the GRA expands data integration and analytical capabilities, she said the Authority remains committed to confidentiality, information security and the responsible use of taxpayer information.
“The public must have confidence that the same technology that makes us more effective also makes us more responsible,” she said.
Focus on regional intelligence and predictive models
Mrs Appau-Klu said the seminar should produce practical outcomes rather than end with presentations and certificates.
She identified three priority areas for participants: strengthening regional revenue intelligence, improving predictive revenue models and developing practical, data-driven initiatives that can be implemented before the end of 2026.
According to her, stronger analytical profiles of different regions would help the Authority identify growth sectors, detect revenue leakages and better understand variations in the performance of Taxpayer Service Centres.
She also called for more robust forecasting systems capable of identifying deviations in revenue collections early enough to support management interventions.
“Our guiding principle should be simple: no target without data and no decision without evidence,” she said.
She added that data should also be used to improve fairness in tax administration by helping the Authority focus enforcement efforts on genuine compliance risks rather than assumptions.
Mrs Appau-Klu encouraged participants to use data visualisation and clear analysis to communicate revenue trends more effectively to policymakers and the public.
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