West African country, Ghana has announced an imposition of a 10% tax on betting and lottery winnings effective from Tuesday next week.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) revealed that the new withholding tax on all betting, games and lottery wins will be deducted at the point of pay-out.
The GRA states that withholding tax will not be applied in cases when a game is cancelled and the player’s wager is returned or the payout value is less than or equal to the wager.
The revenue authority has instructed lottery operators to make improvements to their software so that it displays the amount wagered, winnings, and tax withdrawn upon payout for simple tracking.
GRA Commissioner Edward Gyambrah says the tax will ‘boost domestic tax revenue mobilisation as Ghana’s total tax to GDP is very low compared to that of others in the sub-region’.
Read Also: Immigration Officers Suspended Over Fake Recruitment In Ghana
The new tax has been widely criticised by young Ghanaians who say betting and lottery winnings serve as alternative income sources for the unemployed.
Revenue authorities have cautioned that sports betting firms, lottery operators, casinos, slot machines operators and marketing promoters who fail to comply will have their licences withdrawn.
Ghana secured a three-year IMF bailout programme in May this year after experiencing a protracted period of economic crisis.
Managers of the economy have been encouraged to expand the tax net and mobilise domestic resources to help navigate the country back to growth.
In another report, the Ghana Immigration Service has suspended no fewer than 27 employees for allegedly committing several offences including running fake recruitment drives and visa fraud.
A total of 27 officers, including three seniors and 24 juniors, have been instructed to temporarily halt their work in order to facilitate additional investigations.
The authorities have stated that the conduct of the employees has brought the immigration service into disrepute and any of the officers found culpable after the probe will be prosecuted.