PHOTO: Dr Stephen Amoah, MP Nhyiaso
Nhyiaeso MP and former Deputy Finance Minister Dr Stephen Amoah was left stammering and sweating when grilled over the controversial 10% betting tax during a live TV interview.
Appearing on JoyNews’ AM Show, Amoah, known for his usual confidence, fumbled and dodged when host Benjamin Akakpo asked a simple question: Did your government implement the betting tax?
Instead of a straight answer, Amoah waffled about “wealth creation” and “meeting indicative targets,” before finally passing the buck to the GRA.
His lack of clarity became evident when Akakpo put the question directly:
Benjamin Akakpo: You were at the ministry; did you implement the betting tax?
Stephen Amoah: Errr… honestly, you know I went in with my boss, Amin, and I send my greetings to him this morning. The most pressing and compelling issues at the time were about meeting the indicative targets and managing the economy to meet approvals. You know where Ghana was heading towards.
He further explained that his role focused on wealth creation, not revenue generation, claiming he was not privy to all the details of tax collection.
Benjamin Akakpo: So, from what you said, you are telling me you can’t answer the question about whether it was implemented or not?
Stephen Amoah: Whether it was collected or not, I think GRA will be the best agency to tell us.
Amoah’s struggle to provide a definitive answer has only deepened the controversy surrounding the government’s taxation policies, particularly in light of data from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), which shows that over GH₵416 million has been collected from betting tax since 2022.
His apparent lack of awareness of such a critical revenue stream raises concerns about the level of coordination and oversight within the Finance Ministry. More broadly, it fuels public scepticism over whether government officials are fully transparent about Ghana’s tax regime—or simply out of touch with their own policies.
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