15 Feb 2017

Member of Parliament for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse has advised that Value Added Tax (VAT) should not be increased as government moves to review the taxation system.
Last week, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo stated that his ministry was considering proposals to adjust various taxes, levies, permits, licenses and review some tax expenditures, as a way of broadening government revenue sources.
However, Mr Keorapetse warned that increasing VAT would have an effect of eroding the purchasing power and make life hard for citizens.
Debating the budget speech on Tuesday,the Botswana Congress Party legislator also advised the government to address the arduous process that people have to go through when they have to pay tax.
Mr Keorapetse said having so many young people unemployed has a negative impact on the economy. He therefore advised government to introduce employment tax incentives which could encourage the private sector to employ more young people.
“The cost of having young people unemployed is that they gain no skills and experience. They are impoverished and delay starting families and also resort to theft,” he said, bemoaning that unemployment among the youth has reached unacceptable levels.
He proposed enactment of a law on citizen economic empowerment, with clear targets on procurement from citizen owned companies.
Mr Keorapetse said while government has a responsibility to create jobs through public policy, what was happening at the moment was that native Batswana had been excluded from the economy at the expense of foreigners. ENDS