Promise made to ‘investors’ kept — Finance Minister on passage of betting tax removal bill

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has hailed the passage of a bill to repeal the 10% withholding tax on gaming and lotteries.

The move by Parliament on Wednesday, March 26, follows the approval of a bill repealing the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), both of which are pending assent by President John Dramani Mahama.

In a social media post following the passage of the bill, the minister said the promise made during their 2024 campaign had been fulfilled, assuring that President Mahama would soon sign the bills into law.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Investors,
"Parliament has just passed the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which abolishes the ‘Betting Tax’ and other levies.

“I have no doubt that H.E. President John Dramani Mahama will be more than willing to sign it into law without delay. Promise kept!” he wrote.

The 2025 budget statement outlined the removal of several taxes, including the betting tax, E-Levy, emissions tax, VAT on motor vehicle insurance policies, and the 1.5% withholding tax on winnings from unprocessed gold by small-scale miners.

Presenting the budget to Parliament on Tuesday, March 11, Dr. Forson said the move aims to ease the financial burden on Ghanaian households and businesses.

He further addressed concerns about how the resulting revenue gaps would be filled, explaining that reducing the current tax refund ceiling from 6% to 4% would help cover the shortfall.

“Mr. Speaker, by reducing the ceiling on the tax refund from 6% to 4%, we will save GH¢3.8 billion. This amount is enough to close the revenue shortfall from the removal of the E-Levy, which amounts to GH¢1.9 billion, and the betting tax, which accounts for GH¢180 million.

“Mr. Speaker, we have already saved GH¢3.8 billion for 2025 alone from just one source, and this is enough to close the gap created by the taxes we have removed,” he assured.