ZIMRA turns to Parly

CLOUDINE MATOLA

The country’s tax collector, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), has turned to legislators to enact laws that can  bolster  its desperate bid to rake in more revenue  required  to fund the government’s faltering operations, Business Times can report.

The latest move comes at a time when ZIMRA is having severe headaches in meeting its revenue targets, primarily because of a dwindling revenue base that is further degraded  by a shrinking economy, itself affected by company closures and  an increase in job losses.

Business Times, a market leader in business, financial and economic reportage, can report that many companies have closed due to a myriad of headwinds. Most of those that are still in operation are teetering on the verge of collapse, a situation  likely to render thousands of workers jobless and adversely affecting revenue collection.

Apart from company closures that have claimed thousands of jobs, the country’s frail economy has suffered knocks from retrenchments.

Moreover, the few businesses that are still in operation nevertheless find it challenging to meet tax obligations.

Consequently, the situation is now dire as the government is no longer able to guarantee consistent public service salary dates. In addition, the shrinking income base has also resulted in the government failing to embark on  capital projects of note.

It is estimated that between US$3bn and US$7bn is circulating in the growing and untaxed informal sector, which has been described by the government as the “new economy”.

Infact, the untaxed informal sector is now bigger than the formal sector.

With the majority of the country’s population now out of gainful employment and the increased informalisation, the government has been losing a lot of potential revenue through tax evasion and smuggling among others.

Furthermore, due to continuous business closures and layoffs, the tax base has shrunk even more.

Speaking at a meeting with Members of Parliament yesterday in the capital Harare, Regina Chinamasa, the commissioner general of ZIMRA, said that the tax collection agency was pressing lawmakers to identify ways in which they could assist them in a number of areas, including revenue monitoring, legislative approval, budget approval, and the drafting of tax policies.

“I think we can then speak to how you (legislators) can assist us and move forward. I think our appeal is really to speak to issues of legislation. If we are looking at ensuring that we achieve an upper middle-income society, there is a need for more money. So, we need legislative oversight to ensure that tax flows enable ZIMRA to collect more money.

“You (legislators) can also help us with budget approvals, ensuring that we get adequate funding. We are the chicken that lays the golden eggs, so if we are not funded, we might find that the eggs might not bring out gold, they might be brown or something like that.

“On tax policy formulation, I think your role cannot be overemphasized. On revenue monitoring, I think we are ready to be monitored and to be present for you to validate and ensure that at the end of the day we collect the revenues that are required by the government,” Chinamasa said.

The Commissioner of Customs and Excise Batsirai Chadzingwa  weighed in saying: “We are appealing to our legislators so that they become our mouthpiece to spread the need for our clients to be compliant and pay their duties and taxes on time and in full.

(The legislators) should be the right enabling players, coordinators and influencers. As legislators, you should be customs officials in your own right,” Chadzingwa.