Richard Ahiagbah, the New Patriotic Party's Director of Communications has disclaimed a viral anti-betting quote attributed to him.

The quote: "Betting is making the youth lazy; a 10% winning tax is another method to decrease the number of youths who gamble," had been making rounds on social media on Thursday, April 6.

In a rebuttal tweet, Ahiagbah described the quote as "fake as those that put it together," stating that he had not made such comments at any point.

"I didn't speak these words or suggested anything remotely close to it. It is as fake as those who put it together...," he tweeted.

The government of Ghana is due to implement a 10% tax on earnings from lotteries, games of chance winnings and sports betting at the point of payout.

As part of the government's efforts to expand the tax base and increase domestic tax revenue, gamblers should be ready to have 10% of their earnings withheld as tax should the president assent to a newly passed bill by Parliament.

Parliament passed three new tax measures during an extended sitting on Friday, March 31, 2023.

The three new taxes are the Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022, the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, 2022, and the Income Tax Amendment Bill 2022.

The bills were presented to Parliament as part of government's plans to raise about GH¢4 billion annually in domestic revenue mobilisation.

I didn't speak these words or suggested anything remotely close to it. It is as fake as those who put it together...#JoyNews #JoySMS #newsfile pic.twitter.com/SEIMRhLFLd

— Richard Ahiagbah (@RAahiagbah) April 6, 2023