Zimra adds 66 000 to tax register in H1

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) added 65 547 new taxpayers into its register, thanks to the authority’s new tax administration system.

Zimra board chairman Mr Anthony Mandiwanza said in the authority’s 2024 half year report, that in line with the digitalisation drive, the second phase of the Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS) project was successfully implemented during the first half of the year.

“Operationalisation of TaRMS is bearing fruit as evidenced by the expansion of the tax base that has so far added 65 547 new tax payers,” he said.

This comes after the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, in his 2024 Mid-Term Budget Review announced measures to tax the informal sector, which now accounts for a large proportion of the economy.

“Current legislation provides for the levying of Presumptive Tax on the basis of estimated income of persons engaging in specified trades.

“The dynamic nature of the economy requires a review of the Presumptive Tax Regime, cognisant of the significant contribution of such operators to the Gross Domestic Product,” Minister Ncube said.

The call comes as the economy has become highly informalised.

The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) says the informal sector now accounts for 60 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Zimra expects to collect revenue amounting to ZiG 55 billion in the second half of 2024, with the emerging economy expected to contribute a significant chunk.

In the second half of the year, Zimra said there would be a strong focus on increasing revenue collection to support national development goals and ensure economic stability.

“Overally, the tax landscape for the second half of 2024 is expected to be guided by a strategic approach aimed at improving revenue collection, fostering economic resilience and promoting sustainable resource mobilisation through tightening tax compliance measures and enhancing the efficiency of tax administration,” Mr Mandiwanza said.

As part of Zimra business processes re-engineering, the authority introduced TaRMS, which went live in October 2023 as part of the organisation’s focus on simplifying business processes for the convenience of taxpayers.

Zimra is key in the national economic transformation towards Vision 2030 of attaining upper middle income status.

TaRMS automated domestic tax processes, replacing the old system as Zimra was facing a series of system challenges in the provision of its services to its taxpayers through SAP TRM under the domestic taxes division.

“The TaRMS system has been well received by tax payers because of its flexibility and automation capabilities.

“The level of tax payer experience has improved as the system provides fast and automated services on the Self-Service Portal,” the chairman added.

Queries are being well managed at the Zimra Call Centre,which can be accessed using various social platforms and traditional forms of communication.

The authority has remained resolute about improving its processes through capacity building of its workforce. Mr Mandiwanza said, “Training programmes have been held in-house and in conjunction with development partners.

“Zimra hosted other Tax Administrations within the SADC region on their benchmarking visits, which shows their confidence in Zimra systems.”-herald