“The tax exemption at E3 500 has been stagnant for more than ten years, yet inflation has soared in the same period. “We appreciate the proposed tax relief for low-income earners by the Ministry of Finance, but the truth is that the tax exemption at E4 000 is not enough”
The Chairman of the Finance Portfolio Committee in Parliament, Marwick Khumalo says EmaSwati earning E5 000 or less per month should be exempted from Pay As You Earn (PAYE). The Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg announced during his budget speech last month that individuals will only start paying tax from E4 000 per month instead of E3 500.
Speaking during the post-budget seminar hosted by the Central Bank of Eswatini and the Economics Association of Eswatini, Khumalo said the tax exemption at E3 500 had been stagnant for more than ten years, yet inflation had soared in the same period. “We appreciate the proposed tax relief for low-income earners by the Ministry of Finance, but the truth is that the tax exemption at E4 000 is not enough, considering that the current exemption bracket has been the same for the past ten years,” he said. The seasoned politician, did however, give the Minister of Finance, props on the overall budget. He noted that coming up with a good budget under such difficult conditions was never going to be easy, but the Ministry of Finance had done relatively well in coming with a good budget. Moreover, the legislator commended the Finance Minister for the great he did by closing the credit facility at the Central Transport Administration (CTA), which was a drain to the economy because of poor administration.
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