Timothy
Business Writer
The new Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) tax collection system the Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS), has added 65 547 new tax payers to the tax base according to the 2024 half year report.
ZIMRA board chairman, Anthony Mandiwanza, in the report said, in line with the digitalisation drive, the second release of the TaRMS project was successfully implemented during the first half of 2024.
“Operationalisation of TaRMS is bearing fruits as evidenced by the expansion of the tax base that has so far added 65 547 new tax payers,” he added.
This comes after the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment, Promotion, Prof Mthuli Ncube in his 2024 Mid-Term Budget Review, vowed to bring the informal sector to contribute to the national fiscus as it accounts for a large portion of the economy.
“Current legislation provides for the levying of Presumptive Tax on the basis of estimated income of persons engaging in specified trades. The dynamic nature of the economy requires a review of the Presumptive Tax Regime, cognisant of the significant contribution of such operators to the Gross Domestic Product,” Mthuli said.
The call comes as the country is highly informal with the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) saying the informal sector contributes 60 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
To this effect, ZIMRA expects to collect revenue in excess of ZiG 55 billion in the second half of 2024.
In the second part of the year, ZIMRA said there will be a strong focus on increasing revenue collection to support national development goals and ensure economic stability.
“Overally, the tax landscape for the second half of 2024, is expected to be guided by a strategic approach aimed at improving revenue collection, fostering economic resilience and promoting sustainable resource mobilisation through tightening tax compliance measures and enhancing the efficiency of tax administration,” Mandiwanza said.
As part of ZIMRA business processes re-engineering, it introduced the TaRMS, which went live in October 2023 and this was part of the organisation’s focus on simplifying business processes for the convenience of taxpayers.
ZIMRA is key in the national transformation and economic viability of Zimbabwe towards its vision 2030 resulting in the need for a change in its processes to facilitate ease of doing business.
TaRMS automated domestic taxes processes, replacing the old system as ZIMRA was facing a series of system challenges in the provision of its services to its taxpayers through SAP TRM under domestic taxes division.
“The TaRMS system has been well received by tax payers because of its flexibility and automation capabilities. The level of taxpayer experience has improved as the system provides fast and automated services on the Self Service Portal,” the chairman added.
Queries are being well managed at the ZIMRA Call Centre which can be accessed using various social platforms and traditional forms of communication.
The authority has remained resolute with regard to improving its processes through capacity building of its workforce.
Mr Mandiwanza said; “Training programs have been held in-house and in conjunction with development partners. ZIMRA hosted other Tax Administrations within the SADC region on their benchmarking visits which shows their confidence in ZIMRA systems.”
Bongani Ndlovu