By KETRA KALUNGA
MILLIONS of kwacha needed to improve Zambia’s limping economy have been forfeited to foreign owners of mines who have been given tax holidays by the new dawn government at the expense of suffering masses, Socialist Party (SP) general secretary, Cosmas Musumali has said.
Dr. Musumali said the tax holiday that the UPND administration had given to mines run by foreigners was proof that it was a party for the rich and did not have the plight of suffering Zambians at heart.
Speaking yesterday on Hot FM breakfast, Dr. Musumali stated that the mineral royalty tax was introduced because according to studies conducted, it has been very difficult to tax mines in the country, and this denied Zambians what was due to them for many years.
“What the UPND have done without much consultation, without much analysis is to hand over millions to foreigners. They have gone ahead and taken the mineral royalty tax out, basically the investors are getting the millions that this country needed,” he said.
Dr. Musumali said the UPND leadership was giving money to the mines through the tax holiday and asking Zambians to pay for it. He said instead of collecting money from the mines which had already earned through under declarations and other tactics, the new dawn government was giving them more money through tax holidays.
Dr. Musumali said the UPND has oversold the budget which he described as retrogressive, deceptive, and naive in a lot of ways. He said it has come out very clear in their first budget in government that the UPND is not the party for the masses for the poor, this is a party for the rich.
