Former National Lottery Authority (NLA) Director General and Akuapem North MP Sammi Awuku has denied the government’s assertion that the 10% withholding tax on lottery wins has been taken away claiming that the levy was never imposed in the first place.
His response comes after Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the finance minister, declared at the presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement that the government will do away with the tax in an attempt to reduce financial burdens.
Sammi Awuku, however, denied the assertion, claiming it was politically driven and deceptive, and that it was only a calculated tactic to score political points.
He explained the difference between the lottery and betting industries in a Facebook post, pointing out that the Ministry of Finance oversees the NLA, but the Ministry of the Interior regulates the Gaming Commission, which is in charge of betting.
Awuku added that because of worries about the tax’s possible negative effects on the lottery sector, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, and stakeholders were consulted extensively during the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration. As a result, the tax was not implemented.
“So, let’s call it what it is. This isn’t an ‘abolition’ but rather a convenient attempt to score political points. The truth is, the NPP government had already made the decision not to burden Ghanaians with this lottery tax because we understood its impact.
“Hon. Amin Adam won’t be wrong to say the Betting tax was never collected anyway since the Finance Minister Hon. Ato Forson also referred to the 10% on Lottery wins as ‘Betting Tax.’ So if that’s what the Finance Minister refers to as Betting Tax, then it was never implemented even though passed in 2023. Ghanaians deserve honesty, not spin. Policies should be about real impact, not just headlines. Let’s focus on the issues that truly affect livelihoods,” he stated.