The President of IMANI-Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has kicked against plans by future governments to completely scrap the tax on sports betting and lottery winnings.
He explained that the current economic challenges facing the country mean it’ll be more prudent to reduce the tax rate rather than to completely abolish it.
In January, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) implemented a 10% withholding tax on all sports betting gross winnings.
This sharply divided opinion among the youth, most of whom criticised the Nana Akufo-Addo government over it.
However, both the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have promised to scrap the betting tax if they win the upcoming elections.
NPP, NDC promise to abolish betting tax
NDC presidential candidate John Mahama said he would abolish the betting tax if elected as president, while the NPP’s Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has also pledged to do the same.
However, reacting to this, Franklin Cudjoe said it would be a bad idea to completely abolish the sports betting tax.
“Despite the economic challenges, I do not agree that we should completely remove taxes on the winning cash of betting. He can revise the tax downwards,” the IMANI-Africa president said on Joy FM.
“Some of the boys were complaining and I understood them because they argue that ‘you are not creating jobs for me as a government, the little joy I get from betting, you tax the joy away’. Of course, we don’t want that, but I think there has to be a middle ground.”
Meanwhile, the lottery and betting industries in Ghana have seen tremendous growth in the last decade, leading to many betting companies setting up shop in the country.up
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