Mmegi

BURS tackles low tax compliance

Tightening the net: Makgolo says several interventions are being rolled out to improve compliance PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Tightening the net: Makgolo says several interventions are being rolled out to improve compliance PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

The Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) is rolling out a public education campaign and mobile truck access, in a bid to improve flagging individual tax returns which last year were estimated at just 54%.

The tax season kicked off this week, with the BURS urging all eligible taxpayers to file their returns for the year which ended on June 30.

However, poor compliance rates have dogged the individual tax filing period, with just 38,000 returns filed last year, from the 70,000 expected by the tax collector.

Editor's Comment
Get back what was stolen, and lock the door

That a single private law firm pocketed P6.5 million for just four cases, out of a total P11.1 million paid for 25 matters, reeks of a system that was not merely disorganised but open to abuse.Bayford has taken a welcome first step by telling the Public Accounts Committee the truth. Now he must act decisively to ensure it never happens again and that any money lost to wrongdoing is recovered.The figures are staggering. Whilst ordinary Batswana...

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