The Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Issah Atta, has defended the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) decision to remove the 10% tax on bet winnings, arguing that the move will ultimately benefit the economy.
Speaking in an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues, he emphasized that eliminating the tax, along with the E-Levy, would increase disposable income, allowing people to spend more and boosting transaction volumes in the betting industry.
“The scrapping of this E-levy and betting tax increases the disposable income of people. Once they have enough revenue, they can bet and if they bet, the volumes of transactions in the betting companies will increase for you to get the same amount to the corporate income tax,” he explained.
Addressing concerns about the ethics of betting, Issah Atta maintained that betting is a globally accepted practice and Ghana is no exception.
He questioned the justification for taxing winnings when the government itself recognizes betting as a legitimate industry.
“There’s nothing wrong with people making earnings through predictions and it is acknowledged worldwide and Ghana is not the only country that supports the idea of betting,” he stated.
He further pointed to the existence of the Gaming Commission as evidence of the government’s endorsement of betting, arguing that the regulatory framework allows betting companies to operate within the law.
“What is the rationale behind establishing the Gaming Commission if I may ask? The government of Ghana agreed that there exists something like this and betting companies have seen the regulations governing betting and they penetrated the platform,” he added.
