Tax collection on income from workers and national companies grew by 4% in 2024, totalling 155 billion meticals (2.4 billion dollars). The amount collected exceeded government forecasts, representing almost 105% of the annual target, despite the country’s economic growth falling short of expectations, the Lusanews agency reported on Friday 21 March .
According to the State Budget execution data, income taxes accounted for 45 per cent of all tax revenue in Mozambique in 2024. Personal Income Tax (IRPS) brought in 62.6 billion meticals (970 million dollars), reaching 96 per cent of the annual target and registering growth of 7 per cent compared to 2023.
The increase in IRPS revenue was attributed to the strengthening of control over withholding taxes and the fulfilment of tax obligations by companies and the Civil Service, following the implementation of the Single Salary Table, according to the Ministry of Finance report.
Corporate Income Tax (IRPC), applied to companies, totalled 91.9 billion meticals (1.4 billion dollars), corresponding to 112.7 percent of the annual forecast and an increase of 2.1 percent on the previous year. The state also collected 387.8 million meticals (5.9 million dollars) through the Special Tax on Gambling.
Despite the positive performance of tax collection, the economy grew by just 1.9 per cent in 2024, far below the government’s forecast of 5.5 per cent. In the fourth quarter of the year, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 4.87 per cent year-on-year, affected by the impact of the post-election demonstrations, as Finance Minister Carla Loveira admitted.
The government also recognised that, in addition to political and social tensions, extreme climatic phenomena, such as severe droughts and cyclones, significantly damaged economic activity throughout the year. Since the general elections on 9 October, Mozambique has been experiencing a period of instability, marked by protests, roadblocks, destruction of infrastructure and clashes with the security forces, resulting in more than 300 deaths.
For 2024, the Executive predicted that GDP would reach 1.5 trillion meticals (around 24.8 billion dollars), which would represent growth of 5.5 per cent. However, the slowdown in the economy ended up contrasting with the positive performance of tax collection, demonstrating the resilience of the national tax system in the face of economic and social challenges.
