Stakeholders meet in Kitwe, brainstorm on ways to enhance revenue generation through taxation

Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has called for increased  tax compliance to meet its task of collecting a historical K125.3 billion this year.

The tax collector has a mammoth task of collecting K125.3 billion out of the K179billion 2024 budget representing about 70 percent.

Speaking during the USAID Revenue for Growth Project Tax Awareness Support Conference in Kitwe on Wednesday, ZRA acting Commissioner Business Facilitation, Richard Kapasa, said tax compliance was critical in maximising revenue collection.

“We have a task of collecting K125.3 billion this year out of the 2024  K179 billion budget, we need cooperation from ,” Kapasa said.

On the other hand, Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM)  president,  Ashur Sagar,  said there  was need to find a way of taxing the informal sector.

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“The  fact that about K452 billion circulated on mobile money called for broadening of the tax base,” Sagar said.

Other speakers included Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Permanent Secretary, Subeta  Mutelo, who observed that for businesses to thrive and contribute meaningfully to the country’s  development, they must fulfill their obligations, including taxation and compliance.

USAID Zambia Office of Democracy Rights and Governance Director, Meral Karan, said USAID was supporting the conference to empower Micro-Small and Medium  Enterprises (MSMEs) with the knowledge and skills to ensure  tax compliance.

Kitwe Mayor, Mpasa Mwaya, called for close collaboration between ZRA and the local authority to improve compliance.