PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and the World Bank have attributed the increase in the country’s total tax rate in the last year to a rise in the effective rate of employer pension contributions and changes in stamp duty on property sales.
There has been growing disappointment amongst business leaders in the country who feel businesses in Malawi are heavily taxed and some have questioned whether such high tax rates are in line with Joyce Banda’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) for Malawi.
The 2014 Paying Taxes report explains that the increase in the number of payments was due to a new tax on property transfer and to the pension contribution which was introduced part through 2011.
Tax collected by the MRA* on business profits currently stands at 20.7% while labour tax stands at 9.6%.
Malawi has lost its position in the 2014 World Bank Doing Business Report from position 55 to 81 with regards to tax payments.
*The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) is an agency of the Government of Malawi responsible for assessment, collection and accounting for tax revenues.