The initial deadline was December 31st 2017 but will now end in June 2018.
The ‘Time To Pay’ was initiated in April this year together with the Tax Amnesty which expired two days ago.
Minister of Finance Felix Mutati says the extension is meant to allow the private sector and individuals to breathe and give them enough time to clear their books with ZRA.
Speaking at a pre-budget breakfast meeting in Kitwe yesterday morning, Mr. Mutati said government cannot squeeze the private sector because they contribute the much-needed tax.
Earlier, Chingola Chamber of Commerce and Industry Coordinator Roster Chalwe pleaded with the minister that the Time to Pay be extended up to the end of 2019.
Mrs. Chalwe said the local Small and Medium Enterprises -SMEs have many challenges and they need enough time to pay.
She added that government must consider giving SMEs a two-year tax holiday so that they build capacity the way foreign investors are given tax holidays in Zambia.
Meanwhile, Mufulira Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Lackson Ndhlovu submitted that the threshold for local companies to subcontracted must be increased from the current 20 percent to 30 percent.
And Kitwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Past President Berry Mwango suggested that maritime transportation on the Kafue river be initiated since water is available throughout the year.
Mr. Mwango says bulk goods between Chililabombwe and Lusaka can be transported on the Kafue river to free up the roads which are being damaged by heavy trucks.
Okay Ba Mutati on this well done! But still more must be done to support SMEs! SMEs are the key to any nations growth, you are an economist and you know very well the role businesses played in creating wealth in all the developed nations. Central to Adam Smith economics in his “the Wealth of Nations” is the importance of the firm, support the firm or small business and you will grow a nations wealth!
Transportation on the Kafue River is an idyot’s dream. From Solwezi to Kitwe, the river is shallow, rocky and fast flowing. It might be navigable from Mpongwe downwards to Itezhitezhi but this is precisely an area that is very far from town and urban areas. Kafue National Park is at least 300km from Lusaka. And then there’s the manmade showstopper called Itezhitezhi Dam wall. Please don’t blabber like a 19th century colonialist at the Berlin Conference!
Just like I was telling my friends, I thought 2017 was to be declared the year of Tax Amnesty, Now June 2018 makes a lot of sense.
This is the great mind of progress
You could have done the same with Post Newspaper and jobs could have been saved.
How is madam going to cross the itezhi tezhi dam wall when transporting from chililabomwe to lusaka ? How is she going to navigate the kafwala rapids and go through kafue national park ? Are boats going to move at night ?
Sometimes these politicians …..
Good point Roster. In the first place, the so called taxes are not even taxes generated by way of carrying on business but penalties for non remittances of tax returns. I for one would have been happy if total amnesty was applied on non remittance of tax returns and Mutati’s extension be applied on unpaid taxes.
It is not impossible to improve the Kafue river transportation. We just put in gates at rapids like the panana canal scenrio but offcouse it will cost a fortune but not an impossibility.