Global Daily Tax News, Botswana To Raise Income Tax Rates, (Feb 12, 2025)

Botswana announced a hike to the corporate income tax rate, and to the top personal income tax rate, in its 2025 Budget, released February 10, 2025.

To raise the tax-to-GDP ratio appreciably from the current level of 13 percent, the Government is proposing to raise the corporate tax rate and the top personal tax rate by 1.5 percentage points. The new corporate income tax rate would be 23.5 percent, and the top personal income tax rate would be 26.5 percent.

Within the Budget speech, the Government provided an update on its ongoing review of tax legislation. Three Bills will be presented to the legislature during the 2025/26 financial year: a new Tax Administration Act, which will harmonize corporate income tax and value-added tax administrative rules; a new value-added tax act, which will cover modern business practices; and a new income tax act, which will include modern international tax provisions, the Government said.

Further, the Government has said it will finalize plans to introduce value-added tax on the digital economy, with an announcement expected by September 2025. Also by September 2025, the Government expects to have finalized plans for the introduction of a new fiscal marking and monitoring solution. Finally, by March 2026, the Government expects to have developed a new electronic VAT invoicing solution, providing for real-time transaction reporting.