Diamond Slump Spurs Botswana to Propose Raising Income Taxes

Botswana plans to raise corporate and personal taxes to offset a slump in diamond revenue and rein in a widening budget deficit.

Proposals submitted by the Finance Ministry to lawmakers this week include increasing company taxes by 2.5 percentage points to 24.5%, and the top rate for personal income tax by a similar margin to 27.5%. Budget data released by the ministry yesterday forecast a shortfall equivalent to 8.9% of gross domestic product — more than double the 4% limit in the country’s fiscal guidelines.

A worker guides machinery during sinking operations at an underground shaft at the Lucara Diamond Corp. mine in Letlhakane, Botswana.

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

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