Evidence on Ethical Tax Practices by Companies Listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange

The aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of tax behavior of companies, particularly multinationals. It draws on previously designed responsible and transparent tax behavior principles, guidelines, scorecards and benchmarks. The author examined 37 Ghanaian listed companies. The companies surveyed were grouped into three branches of industry: Consumer and Industrial Products and Services (n=17); Energy, Utilities and Resources (n=8) and Financial Services (n=12). The results show that Ghanaian listed companies are not fiscally responsible and transparent. The overall percentage of total points scored by the top 10 companies is 45%. Besides, overwhelming majority (73%) of the companies scored below the minimum amount (0-20 points). What is more, an overall transparency rating on the six principles of good tax governance is 29%. These insights have several implications for tax authorities and moral investors