Botswana strongly rejects tax haven label
Friday, December 16, 2016
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.
That rare sight deserves heartfelt praise, not only for President Duma Boko and his administration, but also for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), the Mogae family, and the entire country.President Boko’s decision to grant a full state funeral to a man who belonged to a rival party was a mark of true statesmanship. He recognised that national leadership carries a weight that belongs to the whole...