Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed strong opposition to the taxation of betting winnings, arguing that the Ghanaian youth’s engagement in betting is largely due to the lack of employment opportunities.
Speaking on Sunrise FM in the Eastern Region, Mahama criticized the government’s approach, stating that it is unreasonable to impose taxes on betting profits when the youth are struggling with unemployment.
“My argument has been that we should not tax bets. These young people are unemployed, and when they manage to get some money, even as little as 20 cedis, they stake their bets,” Mahama explained. “They are turning to betting because they don’t have jobs. Therefore, we should not tax their winnings.”
Mahama further emphasized that any taxation on betting should only be considered once the government has successfully created jobs for the youth. “It is only when we have been able to provide employment opportunities that we can start taxing betting wins, to discourage the youth from engaging in it, as it is not a healthy activity. But until then, betting wins should not be taxed,” he added.
The former president made it clear that if his party were to return to power, they would remove the betting tax to ease the financial burden on young people.
