GRA data exposes Amin Adam’s lies over ‘we did not implement betting tax’ comment

Data from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) shows that the Akufo-Addo-led administration did implement the 10% betting withholding tax contrary to the claim by the former Finance Minister, Mr. Mohammed Amin Adam, that the immediate past government did not implement the betting tax.

For instance, the Domestic Tax Revenue Division of GRA in October 2023 said it generated GH¢15 million from the bet tax within the first month the tax was implemented.

Also, the previous NPP administration in 2024 said the government raked in GHS1.2 billion in revenue from the betting tax.

A quote attributed to Mr. Edward Gyambra, the Commissioner in charge of DTRD, in connection with implementing the Betting tax states: “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.”

With introducing the 10% withholding tax on betting, the GRA’s goal was to raise approximately GH¢400 million to bolster government revenue.

Again to prove that the former Finance Minister Amin Adam and Member of Parliament (MP) for Karaga Constituency lied during his interview with the media immediately after the current Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, presented the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy in Parliament on March 11, 2025, some patrons of sports betting took to social media handles to criticised the former Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam for saying the previous NPP administration did not implement the betting tax.

In light of all the claim by Dr. Amin Adam, some Ghanaians who have experienced deductions from their bet winnings have questioned the whereabouts of the deducted taxes, urging a swift investigation into the matter.

They have further called for a probe into the erstwhile government’s collection of the revenue generated from the 10% betting withholding tax.

By: Kwadwo BUABENG