Thursday, November 14, 2024

Mine tax being used for roads-Finance Minister

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Minister of Finance and National Planing Hon Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane
Minister of Finance and National Planing Hon Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane

Finance Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane says Government has raised 800 billion Kwacha in taxes from mining companies.

The money is now being used to rehabilitate township roads.

The money is part of the one point four trillion kwacha tax arrears owed by the mining companies.

Dr Musokotwane says in 2008 government introduced new taxes for mining companies but some of them refused to pay because the taxes were not provided for in the development agreements.

He says after protracted consultations with government, the mining companies later agreed to pay the taxes in arrears.

Dr Musokotwane told Journalists at a press briefing in Lusaka that the money was not reflected in the budget because it has only been made available now.

In November last year Dr Musokotwane made a ministerial statement in parliament in which he told the house that the total tax liability of the mining companies amounted to 1.4 trillion kwacha.

He told the house that close to over 400 billion Kwacha would be paid by end of 2010 while the balance of 967 billion Kwacha would be settled before June 30, 2011.

Some opposition leaders have challenged government to justify where the money to finance the rehabilitation of roads in townships is coming from because it was not provided for in the budget.

ZNBC

14 COMMENTS

  1. Please do not insult our intelligence. Your President said you have borrowed money from the capital markets and you say the different. What do you expect people to believe. A liar will always be covered with another. Bo Doc Musokotwane you are now caught up in the web of lies. We need honest men and women to run this country and not liars and jokers. It is my prayer that the people of western province wont give a vote this year

  2. so the mines do pay tax after all the lies from pf? not good news for pf cadres, please bo musokotwane, spare pf the anguish.

  3. Mr “puppett Finance Minister”, Can you be transparent about the taxes you are talking about please. We need to know asap. otherwise it is a case of money laundering!! Jail time for you soon!

  4. So where is that supplementary budget for those roads? Parliament needs to approve all appropriations, otherwise it is a criminal offense to issue govt funds without parliamentary approval.

  5. Why the heck has the MMD government allowed these companies to fall behind in paying taxes? Or is it they are to lenient and slow in collecting? They are making a mockery of Banda and his sidekicks. Copper prices are at an all time high. that is to say the are making billions of dollars. THEY SHOULD BE PENALISED for late payment of taxes and charged interest…..

  6. #2. pf government, do you read? Are you one of those people that develop headaches when they read? Did you read about this news article about taxes by the mine companies in Zambia?

    According to the UK’s Daily Mail, which has carried out a special investigation into the company, Glencore’s subsidiary, Mopani, located in Zambia, sells its copper at artificially low prices to its parent company in Switzerland. The copper can then be sold on by Glencore from Switzerland, where it not only realises a higher price, but where Glencore also pays lower taxes, according to the newspaper.

    “The process of moving a commodity like this from one country to another to reduce a company’s tax bill runs contrary to the OECD.

  7. and that guy is a crook
    the Mopani audit was finished in the fall of 2009, it was kept secret.

    Congolese state expelled FQM from DRC because of malversations several months ago and … sold the licences to ENRC !!

    Why Congolese politicians can do it and the MMD crooks are not be able to expel FQM and Glencore from Zed ???

    our shady leaders are bought and paid for by the foreign companies ie Mzungus, WaChina and Mhindis

    I like this citation

    “The government is like an estate agent and if you have an estate agent who cannot collect rent, what do you do with them? You fire them,” Dr Mpande said.

    Time is running out
    And Sata is going to kick out those thieves and crooks :-)

  8. With people like Mutati at the helm of MOPANI, a chap who was still head of the division when ZCCM went down(i.e. in production) it is not surprising it is the same visionless leadership which has now been coerced to log false audits & thus deprive national coffers of the due income.
    MMD is a cabal of thieves with stooges in the former parastatal companies – so nothing has really changed. THE SADDNESS IN ALL THIS, IS EDUCATED ZAMBIANS, WHOSE EDUCATION WAS FUNDED BY THE TAXPAYER IN HOPE THAT THEY WOULD BE PATRIOTIC ENOUGH TO SPEAR HEAD THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS COUNTRY, ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE REALLY FAILED US – so even though Sata may be ridiculed for his humble education, at least he identifies with the majority who are as humble as him in their educational exploits !!

  9. @8 kalos2121, i blog because i am well read and my sources of information are not limited to mr mmembe and his post (and mr sata’s lies for good measure). without such a background, i would be ashamed to open my mouth anyhow like pf cadres do proudly all the time. i read about the issues surrounding mopani and glencore a few weeks ago, including the trading practices of glencore in the commodity markets including world food supply. the tax issues have been there longer. any other question please?

  10. Some articles really are meant to raise people’s blood pressure.How do you spend public funds without approval and then start giving statements that would not be accepted by even a baby that is still suckling? Bo Musokotwane please it shouldn’t be you otherwise get ready to explain this fraud at the end of this year

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