.CHIKWANDA

By MOFFAT CHAZINGWA –

THE Government has maintained its stance on the new mining taxation regime because it was formulated to deal with fraud in the old system.
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda said the new taxation model was a final tax and had the intrinsic value of simplicity.
Mr Chikwanda said this in Mufulira yesterday when he commissioned the Mokambo housing project at Mokambo border post before touring Mopani Copper Mines (MCM)’s plant in the district.
The minister said the Government, as the custodian of the interests of the Zambian people, changed the system of mining taxation to deal with the fraud in the old system.
“The new mining taxation model is a final tax and has the intrinsic value of simplicity,” Mr Chikwanda said.
“Government is committed to maintaining the employment levels in the mines and ensuring that copper export volumes do not decline, and not least for all mines to stay afloat.”
Mr Chikwanda, however, said the Government would discuss policy issues with mining companies but operational issues relating to taxation would remain an exclusive preserve of the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).
The Finance minister stressed that this was an inescapable imperative of good governance.
He said the statutes administered by ZRA, including the Mines and Minerals Act, had all the necessary elements for some reprieve when the commissioner general was satisfied beyond doubt that there was cause for relief.
“Various mining companies, I must say in good faith, have argued that the existing laws do not provide enough or adequate mechanisms and incentives for large outlays of capital investment,” Mr Chikwanda said.
“We will critically scrutinize existing statutes with a view to reinforcing or strengthening the incentives in order to enlist new investments, which is a compelling need for mine development and innovations.”
Mr Chikwanda also said the streamlining of value-added tax (VAT) rule 18 would be done in a few days’ time to offer the desired relief to all exporters and increase the flow of export earnings.
The minister assured of the Government’s commitment to supporting ZRA to improve border post facilities and enhance motivation and incentives, in order for staff to perform to the best of their potentialities.
ZRA commissioner general Berlin Msiska said Mokambo border post had a lot of potential and was strategic for both trade and security reasons.
Mr Msiska expressed happiness with the (commissioned) semi-detached housing block constructed at a cost of K824,000 because it would go a long way in alleviating the challenge of accommodation for ZRA staff.