Don’t abolish Betting tax; use it to fund FSHS—UDS Lecturer proposes
The Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences at the University for Development Studies, Engineer Professor Ibrahim Yakubu Seini, has urged the government to suspend any plans to abolish the betting tax as promised in the ruling NDC’s 2024 manifesto.
According to him, proceeds accrued from the betting tax can be used to fund the Free Senior High School Program, which currently has no dedicated source of funding.
“The betting tax can be a source of revenue for the government to meet its financial demands, particularly regarding the Free Senior High [Program],” Ing. Prof. Yakubu Seini told Xtrememediaonline in an interview after delivering his inaugural professorial lecture at the UDS in Tamale on Friday.
He said betting is ‘free money’ for people and can be considered as income, hence the need for monies made from it to be taxed.
“The betting tax is free money for some people; [note] that when people work, they pay tax. Every Ghanaian, the constitution [makes] it mandatory that you earn and pay for [your] own welfare. So, if the betting tax is to be channeled towards the Free Senior High, we all don’t want it to collapse; it is a source of income that can help.”
Ing. Prof. Yakubu Seini added that, instead of scrapping it, the rate could be reviewed so that it can be maintained to fund the FSHS program, stressing that people must be willing to pay as a way of contributing to the development of the country.
“Those who will pay should be willing because that’s their contribution to the state’s development. With the passion many people have for free SHS in the country, the proper government hastens slowly to increase the amount of money they can assemble to still keep this program running.”
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He therefore cautioned the government to hasten slowly in its attempts to scrap the tax.
The betting tax is among four major taxes the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) promised in their manifesto to scrap when elected into government. The others were the Electronic Transactions Levy (E-levy), the Emissions Tax, and the Covid-19 Recovery Levy (Covid Levy).
Experts have questioned where the government will find additional revenue to make up for the revenue shortfall when these taxes are scrapped.
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Inaugural Professorial Lecture
Speaking on the theme “Beyond Computation: Mathematics is Key to National Development,” Ing. Prof. Yakubu Seini emphasized the importance of mathematics in nation-building, calling on the government to deliberately use mathematical principles in the development of its development policies.
This, he noted, would go a long way to help in the development of the country.
Ing. Prof. Yakubu Seini also urged parents to engage their children in “simple logical activities” at home and not leave the training of their wards only to teachers.
He praised the government’s planned dialogue on educational reforms in the country, noting that it will offer stakeholders the opportunity to come up with innovative ideas to address challenges in the education sector.
Vice Chancellor, Prof. Seidu Alhassan, said mathematics touched on all aspects of life, and it was therefore necessary for its study to be a top priority for every country.
He said, “Mathematics is just like an umbrella; it covers everything,” urging young people to take the study of the subject seriously.