ZURICH: As a positive move to boost the country’s ailing economy, the Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) has collected tax that is $20.75 million above the target it had set.Finance Minister Martin Dlamini stated in an end-of-year report that increased audits by the SRA have yielded the additional collection of tax, as their annual target was around $692 million.
The minister said despite the setback in revenue receipts, the diligence displayed by SRA has led to a positive report as preliminary estimates suggest that the budgeted deficit for the 2017-18 financial year remained unchanged at 8.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Swaziland’s economic growth remains subdued, and was estimated to have slowed down in 2016 to -0.6 per cent With a GDP per capita of about $3,000 Swaziland is classified as a lower middle income country. severe drought and fiscal pressures while prospects will be sluggish in the current year, and in 2018.
