COVID-19 to dampen tax revenue by 8.4%—report (The Nation)

The Nation (Malawi) published an article on IFPRI’s estimation about the tax revenue and COVID-19. In its Short-Term Impacts of Covid-19 on the Malawian Economy 2020–2021, IFPRI estimates that government tax revenue would decline by between 4 and 8.4 percent in the faster and slower recovery scenarios.  This translates into $83.8 million [about K62 billion] to $178.1 million [about K133 billion] of lost revenue in comparison to the no Covid-19 case. IFPRI observes that with continued easing of restrictions in the fourth quarter (October to December) of 2020 and cumulative gross domestic product (GDP) gains will turn positive by the third quarter of 2021 under the fast recovery scenario, with real GDP gains of up to $178 million (about K132 billion) by the end of 2021.