Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, has apologized to the public after former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam’s statement about the previous government not implementing the betting tax sparked controversy.

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He clarified that the minister’s remarks were misunderstood due to a communication issue, which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) intends to address soon.

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Speaking in an interview with Lawson TV, Boamah stressed that the former minister did not make a mistake but that the way the message was conveyed led to confusion.

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"There is an issue, and we will delve into it by explaining our position. I don't speak for him, but I believe there was a communication gap, which I hope he will address in his engagement with the press. I apologise to the youth for the miscommunication.

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"We have betting, casinos, football bets, and more. The 10% withholding tax on gaming, often referred to as the betting tax, exists. However, the tax on winnings, which Amin Adam sought to explain, was never implemented," he said.

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Background

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During the presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement on March 11, 2025, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson announced that the 10% tax on bet winnings would be removed, pending approval from Parliament.

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However, Dr. Amin Adam later spoke to the media in Parliament, accusing the government of misleading the public by claiming to remove a tax that was never actually enforced.

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"Ladies and Gentlemen, the betting tax that they said they had abolished, we never collected. We never implemented the betting tax, so to come and tell Ghanaians that you have abolished something that was never implemented is to deceive the people of Ghana," he stated.

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