EZULWINI – The Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) has been tasked with collecting E19.48 billion in domestic revenue during the 2026/27 financial year.
Minister for Finance Neal Rijkenberg announced the revenue target yesterday when he officially launched the 2026 Annual Income Tax Return Filing Season at the ERS headquarters in Ezulwini under the theme ‘File Right. File On Time’.
Rijkenberg said the filing season was more than an annual tax administration exercise, as the revenue collected would contribute towards funding public services and infrastructure.
“This target represents part of the resources required to build and maintain our roads, strengthen healthcare services, support education, enhance public safety, expand social programmes and invest in the infrastructure necessary for economic growth and national development,” the minister said.
The minister said the achievement of the target would require a shared responsibility between government, the ERS and taxpayers.
Government, he said, had a responsibility to ensure public resources were used effectively and transparently, while the ERS had to administer the tax system fairly, efficiently and professionally.
Taxpayers, meanwhile, were required to accurately declare their income, submit returns within the prescribed deadlines and pay taxes due.
“Whether you are a business owner, an employee, a professional, an investor, a trustee or a high net worth individual, your compliance helps fund the services and infrastructure that our citizens depend upon every day,” Rijkenberg said.
Rijkenberg said taxpayers’ compliance was important to government’s ability to finance development from domestic resources.
He warned that when income was under-declared or not declared, government had fewer resources available to meet the country’s growing needs.
“In such circumstances, the country is often compelled to rely on borrowing to bridge the gap. This is neither sustainable nor desirable in the long term,” he said.
The 2026 filing season has also come with specific deadlines for different categories of taxpayers.
Companies and trusts, VAT-registered businesses, non-VAT registered businesses and presumptive taxpayers are required to file and pay any tax due by October 31, 2026.
Individuals earning E1 million or more annually, individuals with employment income and other sources of income, High-Net-Worth Individuals and other special taxpayer categories have until November 30, 2026.
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