IFS alleges discrepancies in 2026 mid-year budget revenue figures

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has raised concerns over discrepancies in the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review's reported revenue and grants figures. According to the IFS, there is a GH¢712.43 million discrepancy between the stated GH¢126.14 billion revenue and grants target and the sum of individual components listed in the same appendices, which totalled GH¢125.43 billion.

This discrepancy has raised questions about the consistency of fiscal data and its impact on the reported GH¢1.37 billion revenue shortfall for the first half of 2026. The IFS also highlighted the omission of Social Contributions, a traditional revenue line, from Appendix 2A and 2B, suggesting that this missing revenue line might be responsible for the discrepancy.

Furthermore, the Institute identified inconsistencies in the reported tax refunds for the first half of 2026, with two different figures provided - GH¢1.59 billion and GH¢4.27 billion. The Ministry of Finance used the lower figure for calculations, resulting in a total revenue and grants outturn of GH¢124.78 billion, while using the higher figure would have reduced the outturn to GH¢122.10 billion, which is GH¢2.68 billion lower than the reported figure.

The IFS urged the Ministry of Finance to strengthen data validation and verification processes to ensure fiscal data consistency and reliability.