Ghana – Côte d’Ivoire Maritime Boundary Dispute
Implications of the Decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
In this newsletter, we review the decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (“ITLOS”) in relation to the dispute concerning the delamination of the maritime boundary between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean. Read more on the Implications of the Decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
here.
Pensions.
Read more on the Role of Pensions in National Economic Development and Sustainability here.
Patent Protection in Ghana
Intellectual property can be an income generating corporate asset. By protecting a company’s intellectual property, the company is vested with rights to exploit or commercialize the intellectual property to generate revenue. Revenue may be generated by licensing the intellectual property for fees, building an industry around the protected intellectual property and enjoying the exclusivity of exploitation or industry control for the term of the rights afforded the intellectual property. Read more on Patent Protection in Ghana here.
Africa TMT Briefing
The Africa TMT sector continues to grow. Recent market activity and legal developments are summarised below. These demonstrate a focus in the region on increasing access to communications services (including through investment in infrastructure) and mobile money. Read more on the Africa TMT briefing here.
Snapshot of Taxation in Ghana
Ghana’s tax regime is regulated by several tax legislation including the Income Tax Act 2015 (Act 896) which came into effect on January 1, 2016. To read more on the taxation regime in Ghana, read the article Snapshot of Taxation in Ghana here.
Tax
The income tax laws of Ghana have been revised and consolidated into one tax code, the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) as amended (the ITA).
The ITA came into force on 1 January 2016. It has widened the tax base by making Ghana’s income tax rules applicable to the world-wide income of tax-resident companies, and restricting the utilization of capital allowance with respect to depreciating assets to the year to which the allowance relates. Any part of that capital allowance that is not utilized within the year is written off. Previously, the scope of application of income tax rules was limited to income accruing from a source in Ghana, and any part of capital allowance that was not utilised could be carried over for up to five years.