AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
Subject: A Call for Tax Relief for Young Ghanaians Aged 18–26
Your Excellency,
I write as a concerned Ghanaian to respectfully appeal to your government and Parliament to consider introducing legislation that exempts young Ghanaians aged 18 to 26 from personal income tax or grants them significant tax relief during the early years of their working lives.
Young people are the backbone of Ghana’s future. Yet many young citizens face significant economic challenges as they transition into adulthood. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, youth unemployment and underemployment remain pressing national concerns, affecting hundreds of thousands of young people at the very stage when they should be building careers, supporting families, and contributing to national development. Even those fortunate enough to secure employment often earn modest incomes while facing rising costs of transportation, housing, healthcare,paying back of loans and other necessities.
Your Excellency, providing tax relief for young workers would be a bold investment in Ghana’s future especially when there is the need for a reset in our country - rather than viewing this as a reduction in government revenue, it should be seen as an investment in human capital that will generate long-term economic and social returns.
A youth tax relief policy could:
• Increase the disposable income of young workers and improve their quality of life.
• Encourage savings, investment, and entrepreneurship among young people.
• Support job creation by making it easier for employers to recruit young talent.
• Reduce financial hardship during the critical early years of employment.
• Stimulate economic growth through increased consumer spending and business activity.
The Ghana Statistical Service consistently highlights the importance of Ghana’s youthful population to the country’s economic future. Supporting young workers through targeted tax incentives would help them become financially independent, build assets, invest in businesses, and contribute even more meaningfully to the nation’s economy.
Several countries such as Poland, Hungary, Belgium, France and many others have introduced targeted tax incentives, employment subsidies, and youth-focused economic policies to ease the transition from education to work. Ghana has an opportunity to become a leader in Africa by adopting innovative policies that empower its young people and strengthen long-term economic growth.
Your Excellency, history has shown that nations prosper when they invest in their youth. A carefully designed tax exemption or tax relief programme for Ghanaians aged 18 to 26 would demonstrate a strong commitment to empowering the next generation while promoting inclusive economic development.
I respectfully urge your administration and Parliament to give this proposal serious consideration and engage economists, businesses, labour representatives, youth organisations, and civil society in assessing its feasibility and potential impact.
Together, we can build a Ghana where every young person has a fair opportunity to succeed and contribute to national progress.
May God continue to grant you wisdom and strength as you serve our beloved nation.
Long Live Ghana.
Signed,
Concerned Ghanaian
Nana Kwame Agyekum II
+233 24 416 2083
@JDMahama
cc: @parliamentofgh@MajorityCaucus8@Parl_Ghana@Citi973@Joy997FM@utvghana@Sammens@PulseGhana@Ghanaian_Times@ghonetv@Metro_TV@gyemgh@yeaghana@GHANANEWSAGENCY@TaxGhana@GhanaRevenue@benkoku@RichardDelaSky@MoF_Ghana@adomfm_news
@Le_King_muir Shut up there!! Did you know why kids are considered minor under 18? As a teacher, you are more responsible for making the right decisions than minors even if he was lured by the student. Do this somewhere, and you will smell pepper, then later go and blame the devil
@3SportsGh Fellow Ghanaians, take note that we have money in Ghana, so if doctors, teachers,nurses, lectures, and requests for salary increase don't say they are witchcraft and heartless- if we can raise this amount for fans to just go watch football, we should be able to pay our workers.
@SackeyTeye@metrotvgh It's very annoying, paa..looks like someone needs to teach @metrotvgh how to use emoji. I thought there was a demise of someone. Now, I will not consider notifications from @metrotvgh serious anymore.
@Shac_man_@SammyGyamfi_ This is what Ghanaians know best for..you are quick to take an IMF report without even reading details to understand the context, and here you are to use it to run down fellow Ghanaians. For once , let's learn how to have a national cause even if we have disagreement .
@blackstarbaz@excusewilliam Are you saying the consumer for China mall is different from the consumer for the roadside? Let's stop justifying ridiculous behaviors. Ghanaian vendors are not creative and very lazy yet prefer to make quicker gains on consumers.
@iamraphaelito@excusewilliam@gabe_real__ .. like you can just throw out false information on the internet just like that?? You haven't even checked whether this is true or not, and you are not concerned about misinforming those who read your tweet?? It's better to check before you say things that you are not sure about.
@prime_rakon And you didn't have the courtesy to blur the face of the child..kyɛrɛ s3 ghana deɛ mmra 3ny3 adwuma baako sei. Another blogger will also pick and spread this little girl all over the internet.
@osadick142@thenanaaba But it never took a true moslem to also identify the truth of these words when the 8 people died in the helicopter crush. I thought there were some moslem in that crush..