Online Reporter
Susan Tafadzwa Chirikure
ZIMBABWE’S workforce is carrying the nation.
Teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, accountants, artisans, police officers, technicians, drivers, miners and farm workers, among others, pay tax through PAYE and VAT every day, fund the 2 percent IMTT with every purchase, and care for parents whose pensions were wiped out by inflation.
Many also face the daily struggle of accessing safe, reliable transport to work and securing a decent home for their families.
As we approach the 2026 mid-term budget statement, the question that arises is: What if the tax system backed them the way they support Zimbabwe?
The 2026 National Budget delivered welcome tax incentives for industry and commerce.
That same strategic thinking can now be extended to individuals.
When employees are supported, the foundation of national growth is strengthened. Well-being improves, productivity rises and motivation returns.
That means higher output, stronger formal employment and better tax compliance.
When talent thrives at home, the PAYE (pay as you earn) base remains strong and stable. This is a shared opportunity for Treasury, families and industry alike.
A. The employee cushioning pact: Four tax initiatives for consideration
Celebrating care and contribution
with targeted PAYE relief
As Zimbabweans, we take pride in caring for the family. Today, many employees support elderly parents whose pensions were eroded by inflation, leaving them dependent on their children.
While the elderly are to be treated for free, most of the time medical supplies are not available in public hospitals.
As a result, medical facilities often require families to buy medicines and other supplies, showing how households partner in national healthcare.
At the same time, workers battle unsafe and unreliable transport to get to their jobs, and the dream of securing a first home remains out of reach for many due to high costs and punitive loan taxes.
So, what if that family burden became national strength? May I propose four strategic PAYE measures for consideration:
Elderly dependant credit: Recognising employees who provide care for parents aged 65 and above, we could set this at US$1 200 per annum. It directly rewards the social cost families are already bearing.
Medical aid credit: Extending support to cover parents, including relief for medicines and related supplies purchased for family care when public hospitals cannot provide them. This could be set at $1 for every $1 spent. As families are filling the gap in public health delivery, the tax system could fully recognise that contribution.
Motor vehicle credit: Currently, loans extended to employees by employers for motor vehicle purchases attract a deemed interest benefit that increases an employee’s taxable income. What if removing this deemed benefit eased the struggle of accessing safe transport to work? This would help employees acquire small engine, fuel-saving vehicles, or electric cars. It gets workers and their children to work and school, respectively, more safely and on time, brings peace of mind to employees, and is environmentally friendly. This could also extend to the private sector as a cushion similar to what the Government has provided to civil servants on duty-free car imports.
Housing relief: Currently, loans extended to employees by employers for housing attract a deemed interest benefit that increases an employee’s taxable income. What if removing this deemed benefit for first-home loans unlocked employer-assisted housing and eased the struggle of securing a home? This would grow family stability and expand formal property ownership across Zimbabwe.
How Government benefits: These credits keep skilled workers in formal jobs instead of contributing to brain drain. More formal workers mean a wider, more predictable PAYE and VAT (value-added tax) base. Healthier, housed, mobile employees take fewer sick days, reduce pressure on public clinics and spend more in the formal economy — lifting VAT and IMTT (intermediated money transfer tax) collections. Targeting small engine, fuel-saving vehicles and electric cars for low-income earners reduces national fuel demand, forex outflows and carbon emissions. The Government gains a stable, motivated workforce that funds itself through higher compliance and economic activity.
B. Building skills for tomorrow
Zimbabwe’s greatest resource is its people. What if every dollar invested in education came back to serve the Zimbabwean workforce first? To keep critical skills growing locally, may I propose the following for consideration:
Education credits: PAYE relief for employees investing in their own or their children’s tertiary studies at local registered institutions, with the workers and beneficiary students bonded to work locally after completing their programmes. The Government once introduced free education for all. It is the Zimbabwean Government’s culture to promote education for its people.
Reintroducing Government grants for colleges: The grants can be introduced on a phased approach, starting with critical skills that need to be retained. Priority areas could include specialised manufacturing skills, specialised farming skills and specialised engineering skills to support and complement already implemented industrialisation tax incentives, health sciences, information and communication technology (ICT), and education — the pillars of Vision 2030.
And what if technology could guarantee that investment benefits Zimbabwe? Bonding could be assisted by digitalisation, which would flag visa applications by beneficiaries of education credits or grants through Immigration. E-disbursement, digital student identity (ID) cards and integration with Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) and Immigration systems could provide Treasury with full transparency and accountability.
How Government benefits: Bonding and digital tracking ensure those trained in Zimbabwe work in the country. This reduces brain drain, cuts the cost of replacing professionals who have emigrated and secures a pipeline of skilled individuals for farming and manufacturing to help restore harvests and rebuild industry, plus engineers, doctors and teachers for public service.
More local skilled people mean fewer expatriate hires, lower foreign currency outflows and stronger capacity to deliver Vision 2030 projects. The Government gets a direct return on education spend through retained talent and lower recruitment costs.
C. NSSA: A targeted tool to measure success of the grants and education credit system
What if the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) was used specifically to safeguard education investment? NSSA could track beneficiaries of education credits and Government grants. As students become employees, NSSA records would confirm they are contributing to the formal economy and honouring their bonds.
When those employees progress to become company owners, NSSA data could integrate with that of the Registrar of Companies. This ensures beneficiaries who benefitted from public funds remain in the system — first as employees, then as entrepreneurs creating jobs. It is a targeted tool for accountability, not a general tracker.
How Government benefits: Using NSSA only to track credit and grant beneficiaries protects Treasury’s investment in skills.
It ensures bonded graduates work locally, expands NSSA and the tax base as they progress from employees to business owners. It also gives the Government precise data on returns from education spend. It is a focused, fair use of existing infrastructure and a targeted tool to measure success of the grants and education credit system.
D. Fairness through data: Linking ZIMRA with Deeds Registry and CVR
What if tax administration matched the reality of asset ownership? Integration of ZIMRA with the Deeds Registry and the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) would show how many houses or cars a taxpayer has. The systems are already in place. It is just a matter of taking advantage of them.
This ensures credits are granted where they are warranted — one car per person over a period and one house per person. This is about targeting, not punishment. It ensures the motor vehicle credit and housing relief go to those who truly need them, while preventing abuse of pro-poor incentives.
How Government benefits: Data integration closes loopholes without raising tax rates. It improves compliance, supports risk-based audits and builds public confidence. By limiting the motor vehicle credit to one car per person over a period of time and housing relief to one house per person, Treasury protects revenue while uplifting genuine first-time owners. A fair system is one that people trust.
A budget that backs workers and grows revenue
What if this mid-term budget statement is remembered as the one that put Zimbabwe’s workforce first and grew Treasury in the process? These proposals are targeted, transparent and designed to grow shared prosperity.
In conclusion, the budget could act as a tool that backs Zimbabwe’s workforce and rewards work, caregiving and saving. Taking care of employees this way improves well-being, productivity and motivation, which expands the tax base and reduces social service burdens. Together, a path is set for people to flourish here at home.
This article was written for The Sunday Mail by Susan Tafadzwa Chirikure, founder and principal consultant at ELIM Business Tax Solutions. For feedback, contact her at [email protected]
