Maravi

DC urges ZRA to sensitise people on need of paying tax

COMMENT - The Zambian government has no moral basis for asking marketeers and farmers to pay taxes, when it is their own corruption and cowardice that prevents them from collecting over a billion dollars a year from the mines. I say - no one should pay a single cent of taxes, until that happens.

DC urges ZRA to sensitise people on need of paying tax
By Ketty Zulu in Nakonde
Sat 03 Apr. 2010, 04:00 CAT

NAKONDE district commissioner Billy Silwimba has said there is urgent need to sensitise people on the need and benefits of paying tax.

During a workshop organised on Thursday by Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to mark this year’s Taxpayers Appreciation week whose theme is ‘Recognising and encouraging voluntary compliance in revenue collection,’ Silwimba said the government could do much better in its service delivery if people were fully sensitised on the need to pay tax.

He said the country needed tax so as to improve the economy and the living standards of the people by meeting its obligations.

Silwimba said ZRA should ensure that they collected tax from goods entering the country and from all business houses and individuals who were supposed to pay tax.

“The government needs this money to do various projects such as construction of schools and roads that benefit the people in the end,” he said.

Silwimba commended the ZRA Nakonde office for the strides it had made in collecting revenue despite various challenges such as the porous border that encouraged smuggling of goods.

And ZRA provincial manager Charles Shapi called on business houses and other stakeholders to conduct their business in a transparent manner to avoid paying fines or being prosecuted once caught.

Shapi said tax evasion was a serious offence punishable by law and penalties included fines and custodial sentences for those found guilty.

Shapi called on stakeholders not to fear ZRA staff but consider them as partners in development and contribute favourably to the national treasury.

ZRA senior collector of customs at Nakonde border Stephen Mwansa said the construction of a multi-billion kwacha one-stop–border post at Nakonde once completed would enhance efficiency in the clearing of goods and traffic and boost revenue collection.

The government is expected to construct a one-stop-border post at Nakonde border post at a cost of K31 billion and works are expected to be completed next year.

Participants who attended the ZRA sensitisation workshop asked the government to urgently work on the Great North Road especially the stretch between Mpika and Serenje.

The participants said the current state of the road between Mpika and Serenje was a big threat to both property and human life.

Labels: BILLY SILWIMBA, TAXATION, ZRA

posted by MrK @ 3:15 PM