By Eugene Nyarko Jnr.
Accra, August 7, 2026 — The Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development Ghana (VAST Ghana) has commended Parliament for passing the Excise Tax Bill, 2026, describing the legislation as an important step towards using taxation to promote public health and strengthen domestic financing for healthcare.
According to the public health advocacy organisation, the passage of the Bill, coupled with proposed reforms by the Ministry of Finance, demonstrates growing recognition of the role of fiscal policy in discouraging the consumption of health-harming products while mobilising revenue for national development.
In a statement issued yesterday (August 7), VAST Ghana said the reforms were particularly significant at a time when Ghana was facing an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), rising healthcare costs and declining external health financing.
It said NCDs accounted for about 45 per cent of deaths in Ghana, placing considerable pressure on the country’s health system, household incomes, workforce productivity and economic development.
Alcohol taxation
VAST Ghana welcomed the decision to reform the excise tax structure for spirits from a purely ad valorem system to a hybrid structure combining specific and ad valorem tax rates.
It said the move represented an important public health intervention, citing experiences from countries such as Thailand and the Philippines which, it said, demonstrated that hybrid excise taxes could be more effective in reducing alcohol consumption than ad valorem taxes alone.
The organisation explained that hybrid taxation could raise the price of cheaper alcoholic products, which were often consumed by young people, lower-income groups and heavy drinkers, while also reducing opportunities for consumers to switch to lower-taxed alternatives.
However, it urged the government to extend the hybrid excise tax structure to all alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, ciders and ready-to-drink alcoholic products.
VAST Ghana said a uniform approach to alcohol taxation would create a more coherent tax system, minimise product substitution and improve both public health and revenue outcomes.
It also called for the introduction of a minimum unit pricing policy for alcohol as a complementary measure to excise taxation to prevent the sale of extremely cheap alcoholic products.
Fruit juices
The organisation, however, expressed concern over the removal of the 20 per cent excise tax on locally produced natural fruit juices.
While acknowledging the need to support local industry, VAST Ghana said the decision required further consideration because some fruit juices could contain significant amounts of free or concentrated sugars.
It said excessive sugar consumption contributed to the risk of NCDs and argued that beverages should be taxed according to their free sugar content rather than whether they were locally produced or imported.
VAST Ghana consequently called for stronger product standards, mandatory labelling of free sugar content and regular monitoring by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to prevent manufacturers from exploiting exemptions.
It warned that some manufacturers could potentially rebrand or reformulate products as fruit juices or nectars to avoid health taxes while retaining high levels of free sugars and limited actual fruit content.
E-cigarettes
VAST Ghana also raised concerns about the continued inclusion of electronic cigarettes in the excise tax framework.
The organisation argued that Ghana’s Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), and the Tobacco Control Regulations, 2016, prohibit the manufacture, importation, advertisement, sale and distribution of electronic cigarettes and related products for recreational use.
It said taxing products that were prohibited under national law created policy inconsistency and could send conflicting signals to regulators, enforcement agencies, importers and the general public.
VAST Ghana therefore urged the government to remove electronic cigarettes from the excise tax schedule, arguing that doing so would strengthen regulatory consistency and prevent the tobacco industry from portraying taxation as evidence of legal market acceptance.
Tobacco taxes
The organisation further expressed disappointment that the Excise Tax Bill did not significantly strengthen tobacco excise taxes.
It said tobacco remained one of the leading preventable causes of death in Ghana, claiming more than 6,700 lives annually and imposing an estimated economic cost of more than GH¢668 million each year through healthcare expenditure and productivity losses.
VAST Ghana said the country’s tobacco tax rates remained below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that tobacco taxes should constitute at least 70 per cent of the retail price of the most popular cigarette brands.
It said increasing tobacco taxes could reduce affordability, discourage young people from taking up smoking, encourage cessation, save lives and generate additional domestic revenue.
Earmark health tax revenue
VAST Ghana also urged the government to consider earmarking a meaningful portion of health tax revenues for NCD prevention, health promotion, screening and health system strengthening.
It said dedicated funding would help ensure that the health and revenue benefits of taxation were fully realised.
The organisation said the passage of the Excise Tax Bill, 2026, provided a strong foundation for further improvements to Ghana’s health tax system.
It reaffirmed its commitment to working with the government, civil society organisations, academia, development partners and regulatory agencies to ensure that the country’s excise tax regime was aligned with international best practices and delivered greater health, social and economic benefits to Ghanaians.
