Ace broadcast Journalist Bridget Otoo has quizzed the former finance minister Amin Adam after he claimed the betting tax was never implemented.
Reacting to his comments after the 2025 budget reading, Bridget Otoo questioned Amin Adam how he could lie to Ghanaians while he was fasting.
She wrote, “ How can you fast and lie like this? 😭😭😭😭”.
The Minority has accused the government’s 2025 Fiscal Policy, saying the Mahama government has lied about key tax reforms introduced in the 2025 budget.
Addressing the media after the presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, former Finance Minister, Dr. Amin Adam, accused the government of deceiving Ghanaians by announcing the abolition of VAT on motor insurance and betting tax.
He argued that these taxes were never implemented under the previous NPP administration, making their so-called removal misleading.
“Betting tax that they claim to have abolished, we never collected it. It was never implemented. So, telling Ghanaians that you have removed something that never existed is pure deception,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Finance Minister has reiterated, the Mahama government will scrap the E-levy, Emission levy, betting tax and other taxes.
According to Ato Forson, the government attempt to review the Value Added Tax system, and the government will also eventually abolish the COVID-19 levy.
Speaking during the 2025 budget reading Ato Forson stated, “Mr Speaker, we will abolish the 10% withholding tax on winnings from lottery, otherwise known as the ‘Betting Tax’; we will abolish the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) of 1%; we will abolish the Emission Levy on industries and vehicles; we will abolish the VAT on motor vehicle insurance policy; and we will abolish the 1.5% withholding tax on winning of unprocessed gold by small-scale miners”.
“Mr. Speaker, the removal of these taxes will ease the burden on households and improve their disposable incomes. In addition, it will support business growth and improve tax compliance”, he added.
However, Ato Forson reacting to Amin Adam’s comment on JOYNEWS revealed, that the Akufo-Addo gov’t collected over GHS80m from the betting tax.
He detailed, “ I don’t think he is on top of that matter, because my checks reveal, that it was implemented, in the second half of 2024, and my check also revealed that, to date, the government of Ghana has collected over GHS80 million from betting tax.
So I don’t know what he is talking about it is not the fact, the facts on the ground do not support his assertion. The betting tax was implemented”.
See the post below:
How can you fast and lie like this?
😭😭😭😭
— Bee 🐝 (@Bridget_Otoo) March 11, 2025
