Botswana, Malawi sign double taxation pact
Botswana and Malawi have signed an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation that aims to facilitate closer cooperation tax issues and allow for the exchange of information between their revenue authorities.Speaking at the signing ceremony on Wednesday, Botswana’s Finance Minister Kenneth Matambo said it was also pleasing that the agreement was compliant with international standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
He said Botswana and Malawi are both members of Southern African Development Community with long-standing relations.
“It therefore goes without saying that we need to work together in the area of avoidance of double taxation of income earned by our residents in either of our countries. I am optimistic that we will begin to witness some level of investment taking place between our countries since investors would be assured that once their income is subjected to tax in one country, it would not be subjected to tax again in the other country,” said Matambo.
He said the agreement would also help to guard against tax evasion.
Matambo said there are a lot of untapped opportunities for investment in Botswana, especially in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture, which still need to be exploited.
“Botswana offers a lot of advantages for investors. To mention just a few; Botswana has the lowest tax rates in the region, no foreign exchange controls and low levels of crime. We are a peaceful country. Our economic indicators speak for themselves,” he said.
