BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – The Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) has established an ambitious target of collecting E16 billion during the 2025/26 financial year.
This announcement was made by Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg on February 14, 2025, at the pre-budget conference held at the Ministry of Finance in Mbabane. He commended ERS as an organisation excelling in generating revenue for the nation.
“In the year that we are in, ERS is collecting E14.5 billion and in the year to which we are going, ERS will be collecting E16.5 billion,” Rijkenberg stated. This represents an increase of E2 billion, which the minister characterised as a record improvement for ERS. However, he reassured Emaswati that there should be no concern regarding potential tax increases.
Rijkenberg indicated that ERS would concentrate on expanding its tax base rather than raising the taxes owed by individuals. He noted that this would be achieved through the organisation’s efforts to facilitate tax payments for the public, adopting a more congenial approach to encourage compliance.
The minister further elucidated that broadening the tax base entails ensuring that all taxes due are indeed collected. He acknowledged that there would be some tax increases, including those on alcohol and tobacco, as well as increases in fees and fines. However, he specified that only approximately E29 million could be realised from the alcohol and tobacco taxes. “Otherwise, it is really the broadening of the tax base that is giving us the increase in revenue,” he asserted.
ERS Commissioner General Brightwell Nkambule, in response to Minister Rijkenberg’s Budget Speech in Parliament, praised the minister for the prudent budget. He expressed his appreciation for the minister’s mention of a digitalisation programme to be implemented by his organisation for tax collection. Nkambule highlighted that this programme would simplify their operations and streamline the tax payment process for taxpayers.
Nkambule further emphasised that transitioning from being merely an authority had enabled his organisation to enhance its tax collection efforts. He explained that this shift empowered taxpayers to recognise the importance of fulfilling their tax obligations to ERS. Previously, they had approached taxpayers to collect payments, but this method fostered a better understanding of their responsibilities and led to improved productivity within the organisation. Nkambule also confirmed that increasing revenue would not necessarily require taxpayers to pay more taxes; rather, the focus would be on broadening the tax base by encouraging a greater number of individuals to come forward and fulfil their tax responsibilities.
