Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has refuted claims that the previous NPP government did not enforce the 10% withholding tax on betting winnings.

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During the presentation of the 2025 budget on Tuesday, Dr. Forson announced the removal of several taxes, including the 10% betting tax.

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However, shortly after his speech, former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam argued that the NPP administration never implemented the tax.

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“Betting tax that they said they have abolished, we never collected Betting Tax. So to come and tell Ghanaians that you have abolished something that you have not implemented, is to deceive the people of Ghana.”

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In a swift response, the Dr. Ato Forson who appeared on PM Express on the JoyNews channel, debunked those claims on Tuesday night.

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''I don't think he is on top of that matter because my checks reveal that it was implemented in the second half of 2024. My checks also reveal that year to date, government of Ghana has collected GH₵ 80 million from the betting tax. So I don't know what he is talking about. It is not the fact,'' he concluded.

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In September 2023, Edward Gyambra from the Domestic Tax Revenue Division of the GRA revealed that the authority collected GH₵15 million each month from betting taxes. He added that by the end of the football season, this amount could increase to GH₵60 million.

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''During the first month of implementation, we averaged GH¢20 million for the GGR. As for the withholding tax, we’ve just started the betting season, but during the lean season, we averaged GH¢15 million. We anticipate this to quadruple by May,” he concluded.

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By September 2024, the GRA projected to receive GH₵ 1.2 billion ($78.4 million) in betting taxes.

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