Botswana, Malawi sign agreement on avoidance of double taxation

Botswana and Malawi have signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion.

The signing which happened on Tuesday left both countries pleased as the agreement is compliant with international standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purpose and are both members of SADC with long standing relations.

The agreement will facilitate closer cooperation between two tax administrations since it provides for mutual assistance in collection of revenue and exchange of information between tax authorities and this will help to guard against tax evasion.

There are a lot of untapped opportunities for investment in Botswana, especially in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture, which still need to be exploited and despite government's deliberate and concerted efforts to revamp these sectors, especially agriculture, their contribution to GDP is still low.

At the signing ceremony minister of finance for Botswana Kenneth Matambo stated that since Malawi is well versed in agriculture, there exists an opportunity for cooperation and investment in Botswana, therefore Malawi should take this opportunity to invite and encourage investment from its country.

"I am optimistic that we will begin to witness some level of investment taking place between our countries since investors would be assured that once their income is subjected to tax in one country, it would not be subjected to tax again in the other country,"said Matambo. Endit