05 Feb 2018

Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo says the ministry continues to work on the simplification of the country’s tax administration by developing a Tax Administration Act to improve on the efficiency of tax revenue collection. 

Presenting the 2018 Budget Speech, Mr Matambo said progress in drafting the legislation had been slow, but it was expected to be completed the following financial year. 

He added that his ministry was also working on the review of the Income Tax Act to introduce Transfer Pricing Rules.

“Review of the layman’s drafts of the Bills is ongoing and the plan is to have the laws approved by Parliament in 2018,” he said.

 In an effort to comply with international standards, Mr Matambo said government was undertaking a review of the Botswana International Financial Services Centre tax regime in order to remove any perception that Botswana was a tax haven. 

He said the review would be undertaken as part of the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill scheduled for presentation to Parliament this year. 

Minister Matambo highlighted that another ongoing review of the fiscal legislation related to the Financial Intelligence Act and Regulations to address the shortcomings identified by the Mutual Evaluation Review for Botswana by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group in May 2017. 

He said the intention was to have all the proposed amendments approved by Parliament during the year. ENDS