Tuesday, February 7, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • E-edition
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • News
  • Economy
  • Columns
  • Companies & Markets
  • In Business With
  • Lifestyle
    • Motoring
  • Sports
    Limited Game Time Compels Seakanyeng to Quit UAE-Based Outfit 

    Limited Game Time Compels Seakanyeng to Quit UAE-Based Outfit 

    Debswana sponsors BFA’s National First Division League with P3.9m 

    Debswana sponsors BFA’s National First Division League with P3.9m 

    Ditlhokwe Tipped to Excel at Kaizer Chiefs

    Ditlhokwe Tipped to Excel at Kaizer Chiefs

    BCF Aims to Resuscitate Chess this Year

    BCF Aims to Resuscitate Chess this Year

    Tebogo’s Move to US on Hold

    “Don’t Panic,” Tebogo is advised as He Transits to Senior Level

    NSAs decry Absence of School Sports 

    NSAs decry Absence of School Sports 

    Trending Tags

    • Subscribe
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • News
    • Economy
    • Columns
    • Companies & Markets
    • In Business With
    • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
    • Sports
      Limited Game Time Compels Seakanyeng to Quit UAE-Based Outfit 

      Limited Game Time Compels Seakanyeng to Quit UAE-Based Outfit 

      Debswana sponsors BFA’s National First Division League with P3.9m 

      Debswana sponsors BFA’s National First Division League with P3.9m 

      Ditlhokwe Tipped to Excel at Kaizer Chiefs

      Ditlhokwe Tipped to Excel at Kaizer Chiefs

      BCF Aims to Resuscitate Chess this Year

      BCF Aims to Resuscitate Chess this Year

      Tebogo’s Move to US on Hold

      “Don’t Panic,” Tebogo is advised as He Transits to Senior Level

      NSAs decry Absence of School Sports 

      NSAs decry Absence of School Sports 

      Trending Tags

      • Subscribe
      No Result
      View All Result
      The Business Weekly & Review
      No Result
      View All Result
      Home News

      Panama papers: BURS may probe leaks relevant to Botswana

      Botswana is losing $12.5 million (P146 million at current exchange rates) to global tax abuse committed by multinational corporations and wealthy individuals, according to a new report by tax justice campaigners.

      mm by Keabetswe Newel
      February 1, 2022
      in News
      Reading Time: 3 mins read
      0
      Panama papers: BURS may probe leaks relevant to Botswana

      GABORONE 1 December 2021, Commissioner General of Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) Jeanette Makgolo briefs the media in Gaborone on 1 December2 2021 on the on going tax amnesty. Makgolo told the media that the amnesty period is coming to an end on 31 December 2021. Commissioner Phodiso Valashia and Tutu Bakwena were present during the briefing. Makgolo (L) and Bakwena (R) during the briefing. (Pic:Monirul Bhuiyan/PRESS PHOTO)

      0
      SHARES
      413
      VIEWS
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
      • Botswana reportedly loses P146m to global tax abuse committed by multinational corporations and wealthy individuals
      • More that P50m is lost through multi-national corporations while over P75m is lost through individuals
      • BURS says “these glaring pieces of evidence” mean “it cannot be business as usual”

      Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) is watching widespread international tax avoidance schemes revealed in the Panama Papers closely and may launch criminal investigations into those relevant to Botswana, The Business Weekly & Review has established. Botswana is losing $12.5 million (P146 million at current exchange rates) to global tax abuse committed by multinational corporations and wealthy individuals, according to a new report by tax justice campaigners.

      The report says of this figure, US$5 million (over P50 million) is lost through multi-national corporations while US$7.4 million (over P75 million) is lost through individuals. A massive cache of documents known as Pandora Papers regularly reveals how wealthy and powerful players in politics, business and the criminal underworld – working with lawyers and accountants – use tax havens to hide their wealth from the taxman and public scrutiny. The remarkable work is a collection of documents from law firms and other financial service providers from several tax havens around the world.

      As far back as 2016, the documents contained in the Panama Papers showed that at least 121 Batswana and some listed companies have been caught up in the scandal. In an interactive session with media house editors last week, BURS managers said they have been following leaks made in the Panama Papers and related developments around the world and that BURS will investigate where there are suspicions of wrongdoing.

      “We are following up on these allegations raised in many of these Panama Papers and cannot rule out the possibility of opening criminal investigations and possible prosecution,” said Deputy Commissioner General of BURS, Segolo Lekau. “It cannot be business as usual when we are being presented with these glaring pieces of evidence.”

      But as in many other countries, Botswana’s wealthy individuals and powerful personages in politics and business have always protested their innocence when even hints of such wrongdoing have been made. When the latest revelations were first made in winter last year, many countries instituted tax avoidance investigations drawing inspiration from the papers. In the process, some states requested collaboration with journalists who had coordinated the unprecedented leaks.

      The release of the Panama Papers sparked public outrage across the world. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the industrial scale of international tax avoidance revealed by the Panama Papers represented a “great concern” for the global economy and was having a “tremendously negative effect on our mission to end poverty”. Former president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, described the revelations that many of the world’s richest and most powerful people are avoiding paying millions in taxes by hiding money from the taxman in offshore havens as a “great, great concern” and “very, very damaging” to the bank’s “mission to end extreme poverty”.

      Many leaders also resigned when the Panama Papers were released, among them the prime minister of Iceland and Spain’s industry minister following revelations about their offshore tax arrangements. David Cameron, the British prime minister, was also forced to defend his family’s tax arrangements after disclosures about an offshore fund established by his late father. He also took the unprecedented step of publicly releasing details from his tax returns.

      Many tax agencies are concerned that when state assets are taken and put into these havens, there is a tremendous negative effect on their mission to collect tax and boost prosperity and development. At the height of the revelations, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, was quoted as saying the world’s financial regulators had long been “alarmed” about Panama’s lax approach to taxation and corruption but failed to take action.

      In her strongest comments yet addressing the scandal exposed by the Panama Papers, Lagarde noted: “In the case of Panama there had been alert and alarm raised, but there had not been the level of implementation that was expected.” She said the leaks showed that “the (international tax) rules appear to be skewed towards” the global rich. “Clearly what has resulted from the review of these Panama Papers indicates that however important (international tax rules to prevent) base erosion and profit shifting … it is unfinished business,” Lagarde said.

       

      Tags: Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS)BURSChristine LagardeDavid CameronInternational Monetary Fund (IMF)Panama PapersThe World Bank

      Navigation

      • Home
      • News
      • Economy
      • Columns
      • Companies & Markets
      • In Business With
      • Lifestyle
        • Motoring
      • Sports
      • Subscribe

      Recent News

      • February 3rd Edition
      • Import Ban on Veges Could be Lifted
      • The Net Tightens Around Van Niekerk
      • Fiercely Schiaparelli: All that Glitters and Roars 
      • Bassett’s Queen is a Class Act 

      Site

      • About
      • Advertise
      • Privacy Policy
      • Cookie Policy
      • Contact
      • Subscribe
      • E-edition

      © 2021 The Business Weekly & Review. All Rights Reserved.

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • News
      • Economy
      • Columns
      • Companies & Markets
      • In Business With
      • Lifestyle
        • Motoring
      • Sports
      • Subscribe

      © 2021 The Business Weekly & Review. All Rights Reserved.

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password? Sign Up

      Create New Account!

      Fill the forms below to register

      All fields are required. Log In

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In
      This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
      Are you sure want to unlock this post?
      Unlock left : 0
      Are you sure want to cancel subscription?