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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
THE Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (Fuz) said it will engage the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) as it feels asking players to pay income tax backdated to January will worsen the plight of players. .The players’ representative body said the players were already struggling because of poor salaries.
“We want to make it abundantly clear that we are not objecting to the calls by Zimra for players and clubs to pay tax because that is a statutory requirement so we are just appealing to Zimra to start collecting the tax with effect from this month and not January,” said FUZ secretary-general Paul Gundani.
The revenue authority last week held a one-day workshop with treasurers from the 16 Premier Soccer League clubs where it was discovered that only three clubs, Highlanders, Dynamos and FC Platinum were registered with the revenue authority.
As part of the club licencing demands, clubs are supposed to register with Zimra within a month of their formation after which Pay As You Earn (PAYE) will be deducted from their employees’ salaries.
The Income Tax Act (Chapter 23:06) specifies what elements of an employee’s remuneration or earnings are subject to tax and at what rate.
The tax-free threshold for individual taxpayers was raised from $225 to $250 from January 2012.
A majority of Premier League players earn salaries ranging from $600 to $1,300 excluding bonuses and other perks.
Last year in November, Highlanders were fined $300 for failing to account for VAT as well as not submitting income tax returns to Zimra.
Online Reporter