Swaziland to collect tax from US citizens, firms

Swaziland will implement the United States Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act FATCA 2010 by collecting tax from US individuals and companies operating in the country.APA learnt on Friday that the act, whose objective is the facilitation of the exchange of financial information between US and other countries where its citizens hold funds, will be implemented through the Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA).

SRA Commissioner General Dumisani Masilela said this would also make it easier for SRA to collect tax from Swazi citizens living in the US.

The SRA warned that non-compliance with the act can result in a 30 percent penalty on all funds coming from the United States.

Bheki Bhembe, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance said, “While recognizing that some banks and financial institutions have already registered on the US’s Internal Revenue Service FATCA registration portal, the government of Swaziland is in the process of negotiating a tax information exchange agreement with the US government.”