‘Over GH₵80m was collected in betting tax, Amin Adam got it wrong’ – Finance Minister
‘Over GH₵80m was collected in betting tax, Amin Adam got it wrong’ – Finance Minister
‘Over GH₵80m was collected in betting tax, Amin Adam got it wrong’ – Finance Minister
Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Ato Forson, has stated that the claim made by former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam—that the previous administration never implemented the betting tax—is inaccurate.
During a news conference on Tuesday, March 11, shortly after the Finance Minister introduced the new government’s first budget statement, which included the abolition of the e-levy and the betting tax among other changes, the former Finance Minister asserted that the NPP government did not enforce the controversial tax on lottery and sports betting winnings.
Dr Amin Adam said it was deceptive for the NDC government to claim to abolish a tax that was never collected although the law was passed in 2023.
Responding to the claims in an interview with Evans Mensah on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday night, the Finance Minister said his colleague on the other side appears not to be on top of that issue.
“I don’t think he’s on top of that matter because my checks revealed that it was implemented in the second half of 2024. And my checks also reveal that year-to-date, the government of Ghana has collected over GH₵80 million from betting tax, so I don’t know what he’s talking about. It is not the fact. The fact on the ground does not support his assertion. Clearly, the betting tax was implemented, he insisted.
The betting tax, introduced under the previous government, imposed a 10% withholding tax on winnings from sports betting and lottery. While it faced heavy backlash from industry players and the public, Dr. Amin Adam maintains that his administration did not implement the policy before leaving office.
In August 2024, the then-presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, reiterated his commitment to abolish the controversial E-Levy and betting tax if elected President in the just-ended general elections.
“We’ll also reduce Withholding Tax for small-scale gold exports to 1% to curb smuggling, and abolish the Betting Tax,” Dr Bawumia promised during the party’s manifesto launch in Takoradi on August 18, 2024.
By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie
