The Chamber of Mines of Namibia says it supports proposed changes to taxation in the mining sector.
Minister of finance Ericah Shafudah’s budget speech last month indicated that the government intends to table an income tax amendment bill this year, which will include revisions affecting the mining sector.
“The chamber generally supports these amendments, as they are aimed at strengthening economic activity and promoting growth,” chief economist Lauren Graham says in the chamber’s report released on Monday.
Proposed changes include limiting the carrying forward of mining companies’ tax losses to 10 years.
In the current tax regime, mining companies can continue to carry forward losses from earlier development stages, even if the company generates a profit during the financial year.
The chamber expresses its support for the change, and says it welcomes additional amendments relating to corporate social responsibility and rehabilitation expenditure deductions.
In the new regime, rehabilitation expenditures and corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditures will be tax-deductible.
“Recognising such expenditure as deductible will encourage continued and expanded investment in community development, while also incentivising companies that have not yet undertaken CSR initiatives to do so,” Graham says in the report.
