Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has welcomed the decision by government to introduce sales tax to replace value added tax.
Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe announced during the 2019 budget presentation that government will abolish Value Added Tax (VAT) and replace it with a non-refundable sales tax in April 2019, a move likely to help the government boost revenue collection and bring down mounting debt.
JCTR Social and Economic Program Officer, Innocent Ndashe is confident that the introduced sales tax will enhance the country’s beneficiation from the mining sector.
In an interview with QTV News, Mr Ndashe said for a long time, the country has been losing tax revenue from the mining sector which otherwise could have been channeled towards infrastructure development in the health and education sectors among others.
Mr. Ndashe added that the decision by government to abolish VAT will in the long run help address financial linkages and further enhance tax administration
There’s no substance in this revelation by JCTR…
Am no HH fun but he went into detail and explained, which to me made a bit of sense… can the other side of the debate do the same… I believe there is more better argument than I’ve heard so far which I think government is correct but am afraid the argument at the moment is shallow…
As a research engine, I was expecting more of JCTR analysis and findings from this Giant Organisation that I reapect so much.
Was this chap just speaking extemporaneously or is that what we should take as a serious analysis by this giant of a research group?
It would have been nice to see much deeper analysis than this fluff!
Better keep quiet or put a caveat that these are your own views, better still, advise if there would be more…
…analysis to come.
Problem is that Zambia are taken for grunted expecting people to acknowledge everything and everything without question just because somebody said.
If you are going to defend something explain so we could analyse how shallow or deeper your understanding on the subject is and whether it is practical….
If JCTR have nothing to offer? It is better to keep quite. Firstly, they do not seem to understand the difference between VAT and Sales Tax??? Sales tax has an impact because you cannot claim back as of the case with “Input VAT”. In a straggling economy taxes slow economic growth with no tangible benefit to the poor citizens. This Government is careless and so dull that they think the only Source of Revenue is Taxes. I challenge Mwanatatwe to resign as she seems not to have a single strategic plan. She is so Dull..
Please don’t talk about or compliment something, someone, when you don’t even have all the facts, as to how Sales Tax will be implemented. It might just have the opposite effect and increase the overall cost of goods and services, yet you are blindly praising and condoning something whilst lacking even the basic facts about Sales Tax. Should it have the opposite effect, what are then you going to say after exposing your ignorance!!! Please think before you speak!!!
For the fact that Sales Tax is tax on gross sales I am happy because organizations, Mines inclusive tend to increase costs deliberately towards financial year ends depriving the Nation of the much needed tax. They end up declaring loses or meager profits when in fact they just bloated the costs deliberately. With Sales Tax, Companies will build in their utmost efficiencies. USA does not use the VAT system but the Sales Tax system.
With over 700,000 square kilometers of which at least half of it is arable, Why should we base our entire approach to National Operations around revenue from mining activities.
Build up agriculture and Agro-processing, and agro export potential over the next 5 years, that should in the same breath sort out your un-employment, trade deficits, etc.
When Zambia is a strong Agricultural Nation then the Government and the people can dictate the terms that the mines will operate on. For as long as the mines are the basic single source of revenue we will all have to dance to their tune. “he who has the money makes the rules”
Only UPND sycophants and zealots and enemies of progress would oppose anything because of the group think mentality they always believe in what their Supreme leader HH says that’s how backwards they are very primitive perhaps due to cow dung
Fwanya, why do some of you Boneheads always have to bring politics into such debates. Express your intellect into the subject of VAT versus Sales Tax. Read what Dr. Makasa Kasonde wrote just below and educate yourself before bringing politics into the debate. Bonehead Mushota is no different. Thank the Lord she’s been quite for a while, some sanity.
Tax evasion is a criminal offense. This applies to any type of tax, ,including VAT, PAYE, import duty, company tax, mineral tax, etc. If you have evidence of tax evasion by mining companies or any other company, then report the matter to the ZRA. The failure to collect tax to ZRA can be due to corrupt ZRA officials. It can also be due to incompetent. Between the two options, incompetent due to lack of capacity is more likely.The solution is recruitment of competent tax administrators. There is no need to blame the mining company for VAT that was misapplied by Government before reimbursement to the mining company was done. The VAT joke was in bad taste.
#1 Dr Chonya, so in your opinion you think LT has captured the whole story? If Dr Chonya were asked one or two short questions by the interviewer, would you be able to give an analysis of the sales tax vs VAT? Really shallow thinking Dr Chonya, is it because the JCTR officer is named Ndashe? That can only be the explanation for such a shallow comment. Typical followers of T Hacks, always intoxicated with a drug called trib.e from dundumwezi!
UPND Cadre
You are a fool… can you reread my comment you understand it in simple English.
What grade did you end at… are you a grade 7?
If you read and understand what I said was that we as Zambians need an informed debate you fool.
No wonder the nation is stuck
@ UPND Cadre
What grade did you drop out from elementary education?
… can you reread my comment it is in simple English.
No wonder the nation is stuck
So you tell me the local Economists did not see the flaws in VAT all this time. Useless areas of study?
I repeat, economics is good to an economist because it gives him/her a JOB.
Those of us who are old enough remember how much resistance was there when VAT was introduced. When sales tax is re-introduced we are getting almost the same resistance and I am wondering whether we really know what we want. VAT was imposed on us by the IMF/World Bank and the USA and Canadians themselves have sales tax.
#6.1 Dr Chonya, I can show you two Zambian professors whose reasoning is the same as yours, who think with tri.be not brain. You and them with all your degrees are the real dangers to society, why in your words the nation is stuck, not me a drop out from elementary school. And there are quite a few of you in upnd. If you are the advisors to trib.al Hacks, no wonder he does not seem to know whether he is going or coming.
My friend..: I am Mambwe from Northern Province. Néné mumambwe…
Ukuvwa?
The problem in the country is people like you who think everyone with a different position is UPND…
I will never be UPND and am up for Sales Tax … I just want to hear detailed position.
Ba Chonya, right off the bat you declared that you were not a fan of HH but saw sense in his arguments therefore your comments above are not partisan. Now here comes this so called upnd cadre insulting you for no reason!
Let this obnoxious person be. He is in his comfort zone and nothing can ever change such characters. It’s even worse because he seems to have a bit of education. You know what they say about too little education,,,, makes him more dangerous than his uneducated cadre colleagues!