Solidarity tax still on the cards
The finance ministry is still busy with consultations about the solidarity tax suggested by President Hage Geingob last year to alleviate poverty. The deputy minister of finance, Natangwe Ithete, confirmed to Namibian Sun that they were still “working on it”.
“We have not been too vocal on the subject. It is still at the consultative level and we are still talking,” said Ithete.
He would not elaborate on whether the tax will be introduced in the 2017/18 financial year saying that “consultations are ongoing”.
Ithete did not shed much light on the status of the consultations or who was involved in the process, merely indicating that his ministry was hard at work putting the pieces of the tax framework into place. Earlier media reports indicated the tax would be introduced during the 2016/17 financial year but this was postponed after a public outcry and consultations began.
In November 2015, finance minister Calle Schlettwein said, “For the financial year 2016/17, I intend to investigate the feasibility of introducing a solidarity tax payable by all individuals in the tax-paying brackets and all registered companies as a citizen''s response to the national fight against poverty.”
He added: “The solidarity tax will be introduced as a progressive withholding tax on income at a graduated scale for individuals, and a flat amount levied from juristic persons. We used the average per capita income for Namibia as indicative threshold to determine who should contribute and who should benefit.”
It is proposed that the proceeds will accrue to a dedicated fund under the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Prime Minister. The ministries of finance and poverty, along with the National Planning Commission.
“In this context, the proposed solidarity tax actualises our declared war on poverty from the fiscal front,” the finance minister said.
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“We have not been too vocal on the subject. It is still at the consultative level and we are still talking,” said Ithete.
He would not elaborate on whether the tax will be introduced in the 2017/18 financial year saying that “consultations are ongoing”.
Ithete did not shed much light on the status of the consultations or who was involved in the process, merely indicating that his ministry was hard at work putting the pieces of the tax framework into place. Earlier media reports indicated the tax would be introduced during the 2016/17 financial year but this was postponed after a public outcry and consultations began.
In November 2015, finance minister Calle Schlettwein said, “For the financial year 2016/17, I intend to investigate the feasibility of introducing a solidarity tax payable by all individuals in the tax-paying brackets and all registered companies as a citizen''s response to the national fight against poverty.”
He added: “The solidarity tax will be introduced as a progressive withholding tax on income at a graduated scale for individuals, and a flat amount levied from juristic persons. We used the average per capita income for Namibia as indicative threshold to determine who should contribute and who should benefit.”
It is proposed that the proceeds will accrue to a dedicated fund under the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Prime Minister. The ministries of finance and poverty, along with the National Planning Commission.
“In this context, the proposed solidarity tax actualises our declared war on poverty from the fiscal front,” the finance minister said.
STAFF REPORTER
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