• From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurshipJune 27, 2025
    BAKANG PHUTHEGO BUSINESS WITH BK RelatedPosts From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae   In the early years after independence, Botswana stood out as a… Read more: From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship
  • Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic ImperativeJune 27, 2025
        RelatedPosts From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae Dr Dimakatso Polokelo  Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is emerging as a core component of socio-economic… Read more: Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative
  • ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISINGJune 25, 2025
    SOLOMON TJINYEKA editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae UDC impress BagaMmangwato   Illegal wildlife trade is escalating in northern Botswana, specifically in the pristine Okavango Delta, following a gruesome discovery… Read more: ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING
  • Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur MothooagaeJune 25, 2025
    STAFF WRITER editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING Local techpreneur Ogone Mothooagae has urged upcoming entrepreneurs to focus on identifying a problem that urgently needs to be… Read more: Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae
  • UDC impress BagaMmangwatoJune 24, 2025
    Kgosi Khama happy over regaining control of Serowe kgotla Bangwato curiously await BDP apology from Balopi BAKANG TIRO editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae UDC impress BagaMmangwato   Residents of… Read more: UDC impress BagaMmangwato
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
  • Login
  • Register
Saturday, June 28, 2025
17 °c
Gaborone
21 ° Tue
22 ° Wed
24 ° Thu
26 ° Fri
The Patriot On Sunday
Subscribe
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
No Result
View All Result
Cart / $0.00

No products in the cart.

  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
No Result
View All Result
The Patriot On Sunday
No Result
View All Result
Home News

‘Increasing VAT will hurt economy’

patriot by patriot
December 13, 2020
in News
240
0
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
ShareShareShare

The decision to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) from 12 to 14 percent amidst the Covid-19 pandemic is a bad move as it will cripple further the bedridden economy, experts say.

As Covid-19 has compromised economic growth with massive jobs cuts looming due to business operations taking strain, government is optimistic that VAT hike is needed. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Dr Wilfred Mandlebe told Parliamentary committee on government assurances (PCGA) on Wednesday that as part of economic recovery from Covid-19 shocks, VAT will be increased from 12% to 14% in the next financial year.

RelatedPosts

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING

UDC impress BagaMmangwato

DIKGOSI ON GBV CRISIS ‘Our communities are perishing’

Secretary General of Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) Thusang Butale said it is shocking that government moved swiftly to increase VAT despite the Covid-19 depression. Butale noted that BFTU as a private sector representative union is disappointed by the lack of vision by government noting that salaries in private sector remain stagnant amid VAT hike. “The prices for utilities such as water, electricity and transport continues to climb. This is bad because the private sector working class is highly disadvantaged compared to civil servants. Economic recovery should not be undertaken at the expense of Batswana,” he whined, elaborating that during the pandemic countries like Namibia have reduced taxes and that for Botswana to hike taxes is suicidal as businesses would hike prices thus harming the lower working class.

To that end, BFTU warned that the private sector which is under heavy burden due to the pandemic onslaught will be heading for a total collapse as workers continue to lose jobs. Butale is of the view that more trouble awaits the government post State of Emergency as hundreds of private sector companies will retrench workers hence more room for poverty. Furthermore, he said government should ensure that there is collective bargaining structures for the private sector that would enable for salary increase negotiations as well.

Local Economist and Corporate Credit Manager at BancABC Botswana Pako Moshaga also concurred that VAT increase is another huge blow to the already strained economic operations. He said the reasons for increase by government is appreciated as government funds itself with taxes, duties and other streams revenue but hiking in this period is wrong move. “The VAT increase has surely thrown a spanner in the works. The economic tone is sluggish as it is, given that Covid-19 plaque has affected the free flow of people and goods across the border, and business income in certain sectors has therefore been impacted,” said Moshaga.

He also said this is further compounded by the fact that during the SOE employers are not permitted to retrench staff and businesses now carry an increased financial loads despite them making losses.

In addition, he stated the businesses are likely to pass on the VAT increase to consumers through higher prices given the fact that some of consumers are already facing salary cuts.

“This becomes quite a strain on the average household. Let’s look at all this along with the recent 22% hike in electricity tariffs, the cost of living will g even higher through this VAT increase. So the ultimate people that will pay are the households that make up Botswana,” he added.

Such an increase, Moshaga buttressed, will force consumers to dig deeper into their pockets in order to purchase household goods something that may be burden to their salaries.

 Christian Greeff

Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) MP for Gaborone Bonnington South Christian Greff has punched holes on the low salary wages earned by low working class calling for a review. Debating State of Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, Greeff said it was very important for decent wages to be considered noting that P1200 salary wages equates to enslaving workers.

He bemoaned that government keeps to hike prices for electricity, water and transport but the minimum wage salaries were not reviewed urging government to free workers from this slavery.

Meanwhile, Butale said as BFTU they expect all the political leaders to have a will to ensure that the low wages are reviewed or abolished totally and be replaced by decent living wage. He said it is regrettable that Parliament once turned down living wage bill but it is crucial.

Related

Tags: EconomyVAT

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Previous Post

Botswana boosts Choppies

Next Post

Defective buildings cost P93million

Related Posts

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING
News

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING

June 25, 2025
UDC impress BagaMmangwato
News

UDC impress BagaMmangwato

June 24, 2025
DIKGOSI ON GBV CRISIS ‘Our communities are perishing’
News

DIKGOSI ON GBV CRISIS ‘Our communities are perishing’

June 23, 2025
Auto Draft
News

BOKO’S WAR ROOM

June 23, 2025
News

AP, BPP ‘steal’ democrats

June 18, 2025
Wayei, Basubiya reject Motshegwa
News

Wayei, Basubiya reject Motshegwa

June 17, 2025
Next Post
Defective buildings cost P93million

Defective buildings cost P93million

Please login to join discussion
  • From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurshipJune 27, 2025
    BAKANG PHUTHEGO BUSINESS WITH BK RelatedPosts From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae   In the early years after independence, Botswana stood out as a… Read more: From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship
  • Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic ImperativeJune 27, 2025
        RelatedPosts From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae Dr Dimakatso Polokelo  Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is emerging as a core component of socio-economic… Read more: Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative
  • ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISINGJune 25, 2025
    SOLOMON TJINYEKA editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae UDC impress BagaMmangwato   Illegal wildlife trade is escalating in northern Botswana, specifically in the pristine Okavango Delta, following a gruesome discovery… Read more: ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING
  • Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur MothooagaeJune 25, 2025
    STAFF WRITER editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts From tenderpreneurship to true entrepreneurship Digital Public Infrastructure as a Strategic Imperative ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING Local techpreneur Ogone Mothooagae has urged upcoming entrepreneurs to focus on identifying a problem that urgently needs to be… Read more: Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae
  • UDC impress BagaMmangwatoJune 24, 2025
    Kgosi Khama happy over regaining control of Serowe kgotla Bangwato curiously await BDP apology from Balopi BAKANG TIRO editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING Be a problem solver – Tips from tech-preneur Mothooagae UDC impress BagaMmangwato   Residents of… Read more: UDC impress BagaMmangwato
The Patriot On Sunday

© 2024 Copyright The Patriot On Sunday - Inspired by Search Mart.

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders

© 2024 Copyright The Patriot On Sunday - Inspired by Search Mart.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?