The Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises says the current structure of the ministry is no longer fit for purpose and is being reviewed.

Iipumbu Shiimi says that this is to ensure that various ministry functions have a sufficient and well-trained workforce for the provision of services and efficient implementation.

Minister Iipumbu was speaking during an update on the ministry's developments at the Government Information Centre, where he stated that the ministry faces a number of challenges, including capacity, manual procedures, and an imbalance in the workforce between different ministry functions.

The significance of continuous staff training and the general shift to digitization were emphasised. 

Regarding the tax changes, Iipumbu mentioned that in order to provide some relief, it was critical to re-evaluate tax rules while taking income earners' needs and the pressure of inflation into account.

Thus, a tax threshold was raised.

"What this means is that if you earn an income of $50,000 per year and above, you pay tax, and if it's below, you don't pay tax. That was the limit up until now. So we have now lifted that limit to $100,000 and doubled it, so if you earn $100,000 or less, you will not pay tax. And if you earn more than $100,000, that first one will not be taxed."

Income earners will therefore pay less tax than they did previously, and tax refunds backdated to March 2024 will start to be issued.

However, before the law takes effect, which Iipumbu hinted would happen in October this year, a lengthy logistical chain needs to be completed.

"Tax is a law, and we only made this announcement when the budget was tabled. The law has to be crafted, so we crafted the law. The law went to Cabinet, to legal drafters, and now it is sitting with legal drafters to make sure that it is in legal language. Once that happens, it is approved by the Attorney General, then by Parliament; once approved by Parliament, then, of course, the National Council, then signed into law by the President, that's when you start to see your text being lower."

Iipumbu also announced that to promote employment creation, company tax has been reduced to reinvest the money back into the economy.

To guarantee affordable housing, the property transfer tax will also be waived for those wishing to purchase a home for less than N$1 million.

He also announced tax relief for SME's from 32% to 20%.