GOVERNMENT has embarked on reforming the tax regime in Zambia.
Secretary to the Treasury, Fredson Yamba said yesterday that one of the important components for the Government’s growth strategy was to maintain a positive investment climate for potential investors.
Mr Yamba said the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Zambia Revenue Authority and Zambia Development Agency started the review of the tax incentives being offered.
He said this during the official opening of a workshop on review of the tax incentives regime in Zambia at Southern Sun Hotel in Lusaka.
He said the key areas for the review would include the tax policy reforms which would focus on designing a broader and more effective investment climate.
The review of the tax would help the Government to implement and communicate clearly a consistent set of policies related to foreign investments.
He said the Government had a desire to re-assess incentive policy to make it more cost-effective and allow it to benefit a number of people.
“While still committed to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and an incentive programme, Government has a desire to re-assess incentive policy to make it more cost-effective and allow it to benefit a broader spectrum of the Zambian people,” Mr Yamba said.
He said the Government’s desire was to design a regime that would contribute to Zambia’s wider development objectives.
Mr Yamba said the regime would incorporate the creation of employment, maximising the backward and forward linkages of new investments, and the transfer of skills and technology, especially in priority sectors while mitigating the revenue losses to the treasury.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary Stephen Mwansa said there was need to diversify the economy so as to improve Zambia’s resilience and broaden the benefits of the growth to a larger section of people.
Mr Mwansa said the main objective of granting tax incentives was to make Zambia a preferred destination for investment, establish an environment for increased industrial growth, promote exports and develop the private sector.
He said tax incentives were for designated priority sectors such as mining, tourism, agriculture and energy, hence the need to broaden the spectrum.
“Zambia today faces the challenge of limited economic diversity; it relies on the mining sector which makes it remain vulnerable to external shocks.
“Diversifying the economy would contribute to improving the country’s resilience and broaden the benefits of growth to a larger proportion of Zambians,” Mr Mwansa said.
[Times of Zambia]
Guyz ninshi tamwakwata editor “overnment” pa headin
More rhetoric yet no concrete straightforward beneficial plans and/or logic.
In Kaunda days people were not reaching 65 before going to the land (to farm), now our 75 year old President wants all his old friends to have job security, what about youths … According to Kambwili youths are now the ones to farm.
Why not give incentives to retiring civil servants? Offer them farms/plots and farming inputs as a bonus to retirement packages so that they are encouraged to retire and go farm, in that way leaving the door open for youthful job seekers
Yada yada yada… yida yida… Very general, like all government speeches.
In the mean time shops in Zambia continue to operate without till machines and no tax is collected. Here, whatever you buy is recorded and tax is collected. Why can’t this sample measure be implemented in Zambia to boost the tax base? All you know is stifling employees!
The commission of enquiry that was assigned to investgate the Scanner scandles in ZRA should have gone beyond the scanners issue and enquired into the operations of ZRA. ZRA is extremely inefficient in its operations and leaves billions if not trillions of kwachas in uncollected revenue.
There are alot of business activities that go untaxed because the systems and operational measures are not only insufficient but also unreliable & highly questionable.The only unfortunate victims are employees whose little earnings are squeezed at source & are made to shoulder the heaviest tax burden whilst the businessmen/women are enjoying the freeom of declaring fake figures and some dont even declare anything at all.As for the politicians & Carders are untouchable when it comes to issues.Very annoying
TAX Expert,
Send your suggestions to Ministry of Finance otherwise it is useless to just suggest something and end as a blogger only.
Dollar
@ #3 Goby, your reasoning is interesting. I think Kambwili is trying to introduce a counter culture and important point: Agriculture is a money making business and not for substance. KK promoted it as a welfare for seniors, but that is not the case in the modern world. In fact, KK made a big mistake to promote senior welfare by asking retireers to go back to tradition subsistance farming.
If the president is serious with his statement “TIRED OF BEGGING FROM DONORS”, then he should start by reviewing the operations of ZRA & have them restructured with a view to improving its performance; so that the revenue basket can see an improved flow of the much needed revenue.T
What is Overnment?
Mr Sally Kaseba Yamba. is that what you learnt from Brazil
Ba LT, I have been waiting for 2hours now for you to correct the heading of this story.Honestly what is ”’overnment”’?this is an assault on the Queen’s language.Editor wake up!
VERY TRUE OUR GOVNMNT ONLY TAXES THOSE IN EMPLOYEMNT WHY??
WHAT OF THOSE DOING BUSINESS????
INFACT THE LOWER TAXES TALK HAVE NOT SEEN ANY DIFFERENCE, MAYBE IT WAS FOR CIVIL SERVANTS ONLY. BEEN A MINER NOTHING HAS CHANGED WITH MY SALARY.
Long overdue! Everyone should file individual taxes every year! Individual , businesses . Very simple
These tax measures won’t be very successful in a nation of widespread informal street trading encouraged and promoted by Sata to win votes for PF.How do you capture tax revenue from salaula,tujilijili & tomato traders in the dusty streets?