By Ayanda Dlamini
The Eswatini Revenue Service’s (ERS) Integrated Annual Report 2025 shows that manufacturing and public-sector growth were key to meeting its revenue-collection objectives. The ERS collected E14.6 billion for the year under review, against a target of E14.5 billion, a 12.2 percent year-over-year increase that reaffirms the institution’s growing efficiency in domestic revenue mobilization.
Manufacturing and Public Administration Lead Revenue Growth
Sectoral performance figures show that manufacturing, mining, and quarrying recorded the highest year-on-year growth in tax payments at 25 percent, reflecting improved industrial output and business activity.
Public administration and health and social work activities grew by 23 percent, signaling stronger Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) contributions and improved compliance within the civil service.
Other services rose 19 percent, and professional, scientific, and support services grew 11 percent. The financial and insurance sector increased 9 percent, with construction up 8 percent and agriculture, forestry, and fishing up 17 percent.
Wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, and accommodation and food services, traditionally among the largest contributors to the tax base, also recorded a seven percent growth.
However, real estate activities posted a marginal four percent decline compared to the previous financial year, reflecting softer performance in property-related transactions.
Overall, growth across most sectors aligns with broader economic expansion, particularly in manufacturing, which grew by 27.6 percent, and in public administration, which grew by 7.01 percent during the period under review.
Strengthened Registration Compliance
A key strategic objective for ERS in 2024/25 was to enhance voluntary compliance, beginning with registration. The institution reported measurable progress across most taxpayer categories.
Corporate Income Tax (CIT) registrations increased by 8.4 percent, from 16,744 to 18,145 taxpayers, while Personal Income Tax (PIT) registrations grew by 5.7 percent, from 40,195 to 42,484. PAYE registrations increased modestly by 1.1 percent, from 9,318 to 9,425 taxpayers.
In contrast, Value Added Tax (VAT) registrations declined by 31.1 percent, from 5,569 to 3,837 taxpayers, suggesting a VAT register cleanup or the deregistration of noncompliant or inactive entities.
Improved Tax-to-GDP Ratio Signals Resilience
According to the report, a critical performance indicator for ERS is the tax-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, which measures the effectiveness of revenue collection relative to economic output.
The domestic tax-to-GDP ratio increased from 15.9 percent in 2023/24 to 16.7 percent in 2024/25, a notable 0.8 percentage point rise. This reflects improved revenue performance relative to economic growth.
The total revenue-to-GDP ratio, which includes Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts, also improved from 29.3 percent in 2023/24 to 31.7 percent in 2024/25.
The report notes that the increase was supported by growth in both domestic tax collections and SACU revenues.
The upward trend underscores ERS’s continued resilience in a dynamic economic environment and signals progress toward its medium-term strategic objective of sustaining a high and stable revenue-to-GDP ratio.