Tax Collection in Northern Ghana during British Colonail Rule (1898 – 1950)

Abstract

One of the key issues in European Colonial history, whether British, French or German, has been the policy of taxation. This study examines the history of the introduction of taxation in the Northern Territories at the outset of British colonial rule in the last decade of the nineteenth century. The work considers the nature of taxation, methods employed in the collection of the tax, the expenditure and the effects of taxation on the traditional social life of the people. The delay and temporal abolition of taxation had dire consequences for Northern Territories. Archival material was obtained in the Public Records and Administration Department both in Accra and Tamale. Information was obtained through oral interviews with elderly people of Northern extraction. Information was also gathered from some chiefs and educationists who hail from the area, and from University dons who have provided written material about the area. Other relevant secondary source material, such as from books, enriched the study. The study found out that the British imposed levies on the caravan transit trade. English metallic currency and cowries were used and payment could also be made in kind. Notwithstanding the problems concomitant with direct taxation, the British went ahead to introduce and implement the policy. The conclusion is that the ensuing difficulties this engendered, such as protestations from colonial officials, led to the abolition of direct taxation and even the collection of levies on the transit trade.

Keywords: Administrative History, Protectorate, Transit Trade, Direct Taxation, District
Commissioners