Botswana strongly rejects tax haven label

Persistent efforts by Botswana to conform to international taxation transparency standards seem to have not borne fruit as the country remains blacklisted as an uncooperative tax jurisdiction.

Since 2012, the diamond-rich country has been excluded from the international business community because the country was labelled by France as a tax haven that did not have a “suitable legal framework for the exchange of tax information.”

Following the blacklisting, Botswana stepped up efforts to remove secrecy provisions and deficiencies in its tax information exchange agreements and laws in a bid to reverse impressions that the country may be a tax haven.

Editor's Comment
Botswana at a critical juncture

While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...

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