The Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), and NPP Parliamentary candidate for Akuapem North Sammi Awuku, has revealed that the long-anticipated 10% withholding tax on lottery winnings has yet to be implemented.
In an interview on Monday, Mr. Awuku explained that the delay is due to the modalities involved in the implementation.
“NLA is government-owned, and we pay into the consolidated fund after we deduct our operational costs and CSOs. Already, we are battling illegal operators.
“So, if you tell us to tax 10% of the win, illegal operators may end up collapsing your business because they may claim they pay out full winnings,” he stated.
The government introduced the tax in April 2023, which applies to both domestic and overseas companies.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) announced on December 23, 2023, that the implementation will start on Monday, January 1, 2024.
This was following a six-month preparation period given to NLA and Private Lotto Operators (PLOs).
However, Mr. Awuku noted that many countries that attempted to implement such policies failed, hence there was a need for extensive stakeholder engagement to ensure sustainability.
“The Czech Republic, Jamaica, and many other countries tried but failed.
So, we met with the GRA and the Ministry of Finance to decide on the way forward, and NLA proposed that we could broaden our net and regularize more illegal operators.
“So, even if there is a deduction, it may not be 10%, or the lotto operators could pay a certain flat rate to support the government because they are also profit-making companies.
But we couldn’t conclude our discussions because of the election,” he stated.
The NLA expressed confidence that the next NPP government, led by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will fulfill its pledge to scrap the tax.
