06 Feb 2017

Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo says the ministry is considering developing tax sdministration act in pursuit of prudent management of financial resources and devising new ways of widening revenue base.

In the 2017 budget speech delivered yesterday, Mr Matambo said the act would improve tax administration efficiency resulting in optimal revenue collection.

“In this regard, my ministry will undertake a holistic simplification of both the Income Tax Act and the Value Added Tax Act with a view to developing a tax administration act,” he said.

He also indicated that the project was envisaged to be completed in the next financial year. Furthermore, he said the ministry was also considering proposals from the Taxation Review Committee which woud include introduction of Transfer Pricing rules in the Income Tax Act with a view to curb any undesirable tax avoidance as well as underscore the alignment of the country’s tax system to international best practice.

Other proposals considered by the ministry from the Taxation Review Committee include amending the Income Tax Act, among others, to impose penalty for non-filers irrespective of whether there is any tax to pay or not and amending the Value Added Tax to include sale of property by a deputy sheriff as a taxable transaction. ENDS