CHAMWE KAIRA
At the end of January 2024, total revenue collections stood at N$72 billion, translating into a collection rate of 90.6% over the first 10 months of the financial year, budget documents released showed this week.
This is significantly higher than the corresponding historical averages. As a result, total revenue and grants for the 2023/24 financial has been revised upward by 3.2% from N$78.6 billion to N$81.1 billion.
“When compared to the previous year, total revenues increased by 26%. The increase reflects strong economic growth prospects and improved revenue administration. As a result, Corporate Income Tax and VAT have been revised upwards by N$2.2 billion and N$1.1 billion, respectively, based on strong year-to-date collection,” the documents showed.
On the other hand, dividends have been reduced by N$391.3 million due to a significant decline in global diamond prices over the period.
The revised revenue includes a total of N$2.4 billion collected during the 2023/2024 financial year from outstanding tax arrears through the ongoing Tax Amnesty Programme.
The larger portion was collected from VAT, which generated N$1.5 billion and accounts for 60% of total revenue collected under the program. Income tax on Individuals followed with N$485 million, representing 20% of revenue collected. The third highest category is company income tax, with an amount of N$405 million equivalent to 16% of total collection.
Corresponding to the recovery of arrears, an amount of N$711 million in interest was written off, while a total of N$14.8 billion of penalties was waived. The amount of capital tax arrears at the end of January 2024 accumulated to N$17.3 billion, compared to N$15.5 billion at the beginning of 2023.
The documents showed that non-interest expenditure at the end of January 2024 stood at N$54.1 billion, equivalent to 70.7% of the revised expenditure numbers presented in midterm budget.
Total revenue is projected to be buoyant and increase to N$90.4 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. This momentum is expected to continue over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework with revenue projected to reach N$93.6 billion in the 2026/27 financial year.
