This note will briefly discuss the meaning of a tax, its characteristics, why taxes are imposed, and the sources of tax law in Ghana.
This note will discuss the rules that govern the interpretation of statutes by which taxes are imposed and why there is a need to have such rules.
This note will introduce income as one of the tax bases by providing various conceptions of what constitutes income, among other
This note will examine the statutory imposition of income tax on individuals and businesses in Ghana
This note will discuss the meaning of income from business and the imposition of tax on such income.
Income tax is imposed on income from business. Business includes trading. Would income tax be imposed on the income gained from illegal trading?
This note will discuss the meaning of profession as a form of business (per the definition in Section 133(a)(i) of Act 896), with its gains and profits being subject to taxation.
This note will discuss the meaning of income from employment and the imposition of tax on such income in Ghana
This note will discuss the meaning of income from investment and the imposition of tax on such income.
In this note, we will discuss how to ascertain the income that is eventually subject to tax. We do this by discussing the distinction between income and capital items and the various deductions that are allowed under Act 896.
In ascertaining the income of a person for tax purposes, it is essential to exclude income that is completely exempt from taxation. This note will discuss the incomes that are exempt from taxation under the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896).
This note will discuss the meaning of tax avoidance and distil the common characteristics in the conceptions of tax avoidance.
This note will discuss five tax avoidance schemes cited by the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) (cited to legislate against those schemes). This note will not discuss the legislative responses to these schemes, as that would be done in a subsequent note.
In deciding whether to uphold or dismiss a taxpayer's efforts at avoiding tax, the courts often adopt several approaches, one of which is characterised as the traditional approach. This note will discuss the meaning of this approach and highlight the case law that upholds it.
Under the modern approach to tax avoidance, the courts recognize that not all arrangements that seek to reduce the tax liability of a taxpayer should be endorsed, characterized as legitimate, and allowed.
This note will discuss anti-tax avoidance provisions as a legislative attempt to limit tax avoidance. Anti-avoidance provisions can be grouped into two categories: general and specific anti-avoidance provisions. This note will discuss six specific anti-avoidance provisions under the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896).
This note will discuss the meaning of double taxation, the various ways it may manifest, and its effects on the taxpayer.
Double taxation has several negative impacts on the taxpayer. States often endeavour to provide the taxpayer with various reliefs to reduce these impacts. This note will discuss such reliefs.
This note will discuss the meaning and types of treaties, tax treaties, Ghana’s tax treaties, the goals and aims of tax treaties, and the sources of the provisions for most tax treaties.
This note will discuss several principles underpinning tax treaties. The principles to be discussed are: conferment of rights and obligations, the influence of domestic law on the enjoyment of rights under a tax treaty, pacta sunt servanda, the principle of reciprocity, the principle of non-retroactivity, and the overriding effect of the provisions in a tax treaty.