Reduce Betting Tax From 10% to 5%, Don’t Cancel It – IEA Recommends

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has called on the government to retain the betting tax but reduce it from 10% to 5%, arguing that it serves both revenue and deterrence purposes.

In a statement outlining its expectations ahead of the 2025 budget presentation on Tuesday, March 11, the IEA expressed support for the abolition of several taxes, including the E-Levy, Covid Levy, and Emissions Tax, describing them as “nuisance taxes.”

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has promised to scrap several taxes, including the Betting Tax. However, the IEA believes that while other levies should be removed, the Betting Tax should remain but at a reduced rate.

“However, in our view, the Betting Tax is useful for both revenue and deterrence purposes and should be retained, although it could be reduced from 10% to 5%,” the institute stated in a release on March 10.

Additionally, the IEA has recommended abolishing the Growth and Sustainability Tax, formerly known as the Fiscal Stability Tax, which was imposed on selected companies in 2001 to stabilize the economy. According to the IEA, the tax has become obsolete and should be scrapped.

Recognizing the potential revenue shortfall from these tax abolitions, the IEA has proposed several measures to compensate for the loss. These include:
1. Plugging Tax Loopholes: Addressing issues such as trade mis-invoicing, excessive tax exemptions, transfer pricing, under-collected property taxes, and tax evasion.
2. Broadening the Tax Base: Utilizing digitization to bring more businesses and individuals into the formal economy.
3. Improving Tax Administration Efficiency: Enhancing the use of modern technology to streamline tax collection and enforcement.

The institute also urged the government to explore new tax innovations, such as taxing excess profits of extractive companies, telecommunications firms, and banks.