1. Income Tax Bill Update

As you may all be aware, the Income Tax Bill has now passed through the legislative processes. The next step will be the process of effecting the new amendments as necessary. As such, please be advised that the bill is yet to jump a number of hoops before it is actually enacted into law. BE will be monitoring the process closely and will advise BE membership of any new developments so that you can plan appropriately. For now, though, everything remains the same as before.

Whilst we’re grateful to the Ministry of Finance for onboarding some of our recommendations into the bill, we are however concerned that the introduction of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) upon sale or disposal of business assets may inadvertently undermine the country’s investment promotion efforts, particularly private sector investments yet the collection of such a tax carries with it an administrative burden that will no doubt be too costly for government.

 2.  Wages Increments for 2023

You are notified that the following proposals have been submitted to the Ministry of Labour by the Wages Council, in terms of the Wages Act 1964, as recommendations for the review of Wages and Terms and Conditions of Employment for the sectors which are attached hereto. Further note the expected increments on the table also attached. The proposed increments will be effective upon publication of the Government Gazette which should be in the next month or so. Please check the BE Website for the Sector Specific Regulations on this link https://business-eswatini.co.sz/gazettes/ .