Ghana, Africa�s second-largest gold producer, plans to pass a law requiring mines to pay royalties monthly instead of quarterly, said Ernest Kofi Yakah, chairman of the parliamentary select committee on mines and energy.
�This will facilitate prompt access to funds by government and distribution for development projects in mining communities across the country,� Yakah said in an interview yesterday in the capital, Accra. The bill is before the committee and will become law by the end of the year, he said.
Parliament has passed legislation to implement the tax increases on mining companies announced by Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor in November during his budget statement for 2012.
The measures raise the corporate tax rate to 35 percent from 25 percent, impose a windfall tax of 10 percent and reduce the amount of capital spending that companies can write down.
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