Action Aid Zambia (AAZ) has urged the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to ensure that The Post Newspaper pays all the tax arrears it owes in full before it can be re-opened.
Country director Nalucha Nganga said her organisation believed that local and foreign companies should pay their fair share of taxes as long as they were operating in Zambia.
“AAZ like many other stakeholders in the country have watched with keen interest the developments surrounding the ZRA statements and actions regarding The Post Newspapers tax affairs and tax dispute.
To be clear we believe that The Post Newspapers should pay taxes and any tax arrears that they may owe to ZRA just like any tax payer,” said Ms Nganga.
She noted that it was necessary that the Zambian government raised the tax revenue in a progressive manner by ensuring that those who earned more income and made profits paid a proportionately higher amount of taxes than those who earned less.
And Ms Nganga explained that it was important that the tax revenues were redistributed and spent in those areas and activities that would make the most impact on the poorest of Zambians such as rural areas to provide quality public health, education and water and sanitation services that can be accessed by all.
In a statement Ms Nanga called on ZRA to also act on all the other cases of possible tax evasion and avoidance or indebtedness by multinational companies (MNCs) with the same exuberance they have shown in the case of The Post Newspaper.
Ms Nganga was, however, concerned with the capacity challenges faced by ZRA that would hamper their efficient tax collection as it relates the MNCs and the national businesses.
She said ZRA should effectively come up with a system in tax collection which would compel institutions especially multinational companies to comply with paying their taxes that would fund social sectors
Bingo! You are my fellow rational actors i can call patriots. A culture of the so called strong riding on the poor must end. The song my young brother HH has signed up to sign for the Post Tabloid on its tax evasion is what any intelligent statesman or ethical professional would never say. It the epitome of political cluelessness period!
Times of Zambia and the Daily Mail that trumpet PF propaganda too!
They owe ZRA ten times as much tax as the Post, so let us go after the biggest tax defaulters first.
Then maybe we will get the much promised “more money in the pocket”
Yes, sense at last.
Too many so called international nonsense.
Bottomline is the Post have not refused pay the taxes…and they have been paying..others have not even started
Yes…Nitrogen Chemicals,Zambia Daily Mail(K231million) and Times of Zambia owe ZRA millions in unpaid taxes.How do you justify ZRA targeting the post only and leaving out others who owe more in taxes…..A thorough investigation will need to conducted at ZRA after UPND assumes power.All ZRA officials found wanting will be dismissed for gross incompetence and for being party cadres.
Go and read, before you issue such empty statements…PF cadre or what is ActionAid coming to. Mmembe has been paying tax, more than even some mining companies. Dont just rush to issue empty statements. And this is the problem with NGOs…they lack capacity to rigously evaluate facts, other than just chanting slogans like high school kids or party cadres
THE STUPIDITY AND FOOLISHNESS OF MOST AFRICAN LEADERS
It will take a century if not a millennium for most African countries such as Zambia and other third world countries to develop because of the backwardness of their leaders. sometimes one wonders what kind of education such leaders acquire just by looking at their low level of reasoning. Most african leaders look at white people as investers and black people as employee.
Before i even say a word about a president with 5 first ladies found in this dark continent let me start with Zambia whose political history is loosing its grip as a beacon of democracy in Africa.
last week, the Zambian government decided to close a media business owned by a fellow black man who had suffered so much for almost 25 years while watching the sons…
Way to go!! Finally someone making sense of a straight forward matter. The Post must pay back the money…nothing more nothing less.
Brilliant. That is the signal in the noise that we need! This attitude in Zambia of siding with someone just because of their wounds must stop; tend to the wounds but ask how they were obtained. It is important that while we sympathize with the Post we must also advocate for the repayment of dues while at the same time urging ZRA to kill off this perception that they are being selective. I still want to see a schedule of tax defaulters in Zambia because I still believe The Post are not the only ones.
Its so supprising that we have to comprise the paying of tax by this man who does he think he is contractors and supplyers to the mines on the copperbelt they get punnished by zra if they dont pay going to the extent of zra getting payments on there behalf..so whats special with the post ?why should we politicize the paying of this one man in zambia.he is a criminal in other countries he should have been in prison.let him pay not just talking thats wat criminals do we know this criminals
Action…spot on. Could the EU and American govts please tell us what type of reason they hv in wanting this criminal go scott free?
I wish you could take a tour on the copperbelt to find out how suppliers to the mines monies are garnished when have arrars with zra
What these two govts are promoting is utter nonsense. If tgey luv Fred so much because he is bosexua
pay what collected on behalf zambian govt. not usa
IN AS MUCH I WANT TO AGREE WITH THE ARTICLE, I HAVE QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERS. WHERE WAS ZRA WHEN THE POST ACCUMULATED THE HUGE DEBT? IS IT TRUE THAT THE PF UNDER THE LATE GAVE THE POST IMMUNITY FROM TAX AS PAY BACK FOR HELPING PF WIN? JUST LIKE IRON CAN NOT MIX WITH CLAY, LETS LEARN TO REMOVE POLITICS FROM BUSINESS.
This is not the Jay Jay that we know. Who is this impostor?
Useless Jay Jay, The Supreme Court ruled against that Compromised High Court Judge who was protecting that Criminal Mmembe and those useless employees of the Post who worship him and will soon have no jobs because of their arrogance and collectively painted Late President FTJ as a bad person while they manipulated Late President Mwanawasa and Late President Sata by not paying taxes…
M’membe and The Post are nothing but thieves period. If M’membe has been arm twisting other regimes, let him know that this generation won’t allow it.
As long as the Post and any other institutions for that matter are not tax compliant, ZRA needs to do its work period. We need our money to continue with the developmental works ECL has embarked on.
If M’membe anf the Post are thieves and criminals, what do you call this PF Government of Lungu? Honest? With a convicted criminal embezzler in charge?
Please don’t make me laugh anymore!
Indeco, Times of Zambia and Daily Mail OWE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS in unpaid taxes. The Government itself is owing suppliers millions, pensions are years late, and salaries are always delayed. None of them have been shut down or teargassed!
As they say, Lungu must take the log out of his own eye before looking for splinters in others eyes. Maybe that is why he has NO VISION!
Good thinking ActionAid Zambia, from now onwards you have earned my respect.
Can you imagine this fraudster chi Mmembe? He has proudly confessed that he did not remit his employees’ pension contributions to the pension fund, if ever they had one. Or maybe he forced them to “re-invest” their pensions in his business. So now that Post is closing there is no pension for them. You Post employees, how stu.pid can you be, lynch the man!
@jay jay if you have followed this issue you will see that Mmembe has been dragging this thing in the courts of law. He has been delaying the inevitable by using appeals after appeals using the courts.its not about where was ZRA. ZRA wanted this tax long ago but Mmembe was playing delaying tactics
Yes…Nitrogen Chemicals,Zambia Daily Mail(K231million) and Times of Zambia owe ZRA millions in unpaid taxes.How do you justify ZRA targeting the Post only and leaving out others who even owe more in taxes?
A thorough investigation will need to conducted at ZRA after UPND assumes power.All ZRA officials found wanting will be dismissed for gross incompetence and for being party cadres.
YES ALL SHOULD PAY INCLUDING TIMES OF ZAMBIA AND ZAMBIA NATIONAL DAILY MAIL. OTHERWISE ANYTHING MORE THAN THIS IS JUST RUBBISH AND POLITICAL.
Everybody must see on page 171 the Statutory Amounts owed by ZNBC in the 2014 Auditor General Report.
PAYE/VAT
ZNBC K766,558,953
The move on the Post is clearly political.
@Independent. That is Govt borrowing from itself. They will pay when they find a bonus. How can you equate ZNBC and the Past newspaper. That money owed by the post is meeembe whos owing the government and the people of Zambia
@dodoma
Government borrowing from itself?
Is the Government a bank? Get with it man. THIS IS PF USING THE EUROBOND THEY “BORROWED” FOR “DEVELOPMENT” for campaigning so they can steal even more!
Post should pay taxes, BUT SO SHOULD EVERYBODY ELSE!
Otherwise this is DICTATORSHIP and DENYING ZAMBIANS THEIR RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH!
Ati UPND in powere, withis the kind of thinking of their president and the followers. There can be chaos in the country I say. You are not ready yet
One thing I like about ActionAid is their realism. They will.not be hoodwinked induviduals or organisations hiding behind press freedom. Theirs is a simple and straight agenda: pay taxes and fund development and quality of life for the people.
@dodoma..Don’t cheat yourself.Every tax payer is equal before the Law.If those lies you mumbling are true then why did the Auditor General highlight the K766,558,953 ZNBC owes under “Un-remitted Statutory obligations”.The Auditor General is not stupid because she operates under the guidance and provisions of the Law.Clearly there are double standards and ECL has just been caught pants down.
What is your comment when Late President Sata wrote off the other tax bill of THE POST Newspapers and Mmembe amounting to K14billion in late 2011 just a few months in government…
late Sata or the PF government did not right off anybody’s tax bill .The $14billion case was referred back to the high court for retrial by the Supreme Court.The fact is you PF guys can’t believe that there is public information on how much government media owe in taxes to ZRA.How do you explain closing the post for owing K55 million when ZNBC owes K766 million to ZRA?
I hope LT can publish page 177 of the AG ‘s report for all to see.
A Parastatal company works in the interest of government and its people regardless of whether it is a PF or UPND Government where us the Post Newspaper is a private company with a profit motive for its owners and in this case Fred Mmembe the owner and hence the comparison is really not very objective though parastatals should also be aiming to be making money for the Government and hence to the people of Zambia…
It is like a thief complaining after being caught, why only jail me when there are other thieves out there.