Economic Analyst Predicts New Taxes in 2026 Budget as Wage Bill Rises

By: Solomon Nartey Tetteh

Economic Analyst Emmanuel Boateng has predicted the introduction of new taxes in the 2026 National Budget, expected to be presented to Parliament on Thursday.

Speaking on Business Breakfast on Zed 101.9FM, Mr. Boateng explained that the recent increase in public sector wages is likely to push up government expenditure, particularly the wage bill, which could force the government to find new revenue sources to balance the budget.

“Once you’ve increased public sector wages, the real implication is that your wage bill will go up. The budget is a balance between income and expenditure, and wages fall under expenditure. If that increases, and you are already running a deficit, the deficit will widen,” he noted.

He argued that to close this gap, government may have little choice but to introduce new taxes or adjust existing ones.

“There will be new taxes introduced that’s my expectation. Every government, when faced with such a situation, looks for ways to increase revenue. You can either introduce new taxes or increase the rate of existing ones, but it must be done in a way that doesn’t overburden citizens,” he said.

Mr. Boateng acknowledged that the current administration has been relatively conservative with spending this year, but he believes that higher levels of expenditure are likely in the coming year.

“The government has been quite cautious this year. We’ve not seen huge spending, but it’s likely that 2026 will come with higher expenditure levels and for that reason, we might see new taxes or adjustments to existing rates,” he stated.

He, however, cautioned against introducing taxes without corresponding wage increases, warning that it could worsen the financial strain on ordinary Ghanaians.

“Imagine a situation where salaries remain the same, but new taxes are introduced that would be unfair and burdensome,” he said.

According to Mr. Boateng, while wage increases can improve livelihoods, they also come with inflationary effects.

“Increasing labor costs will raise the government’s wage bill, but it can also push up inflation. It’s a delicate balance that government must manage carefully in the upcoming budget,” he said.

Economic Analyst also called on government to scrap the COVID-19 levy, arguing that its continued collection is unjustifiable since the pandemic has long ended.

He explained that the levy was initially introduced as a temporary measure to help the country recover from the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 levy was introduced as a means of burden-sharing to help the economy recover. That was what we were told. At the time, the country was struggling. We even got to a point where food had to be distributed on the streets. It was one of the measures the government deployed to stabilize the economy,” he said.

Mr. Boateng pointed out that the levy continues to affect consumers directly, as it appears on receipts for goods and services across markets and malls.