By GIDEON NYENDWA
THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has signed a partnership contract with some councils in Lusaka Province to appointing the local authorities as tax collection agent on behalf of the ZRA.
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Lusaka, Kafue, Chongwe and Chilanga councils would be in charge of collecting presumption Turnover tax, Rental income tax and Base tax and Presumptive tax on passenger transport.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, ZRA Commissioner General, Dingani Banda the partnership between ZRA and the local authorities was motivated by statutory instrument number 48 of 2018 issued by the Minister of Finance and National Planning, which empowers the commissioner general to appoint strategic institutions as agents in the enforcement of taxes on a commission basis, based on the advantage that such institutions enjoy over certain segments of taxpayers.
”You may wish to know that excluding customs borders, ZRA only has physical presence in 13 out of 116 districts in zambia, while the local councils are present in every district and they manage most of the areas where the informal sector players operate from,” Mr Banda said.
And Ministry of Local government and Rural Development Permanent Secretary in Charge for Administration Maambo Haamaundu says this partnership will help enhance tax compliance in the collection of tax collection in local councils.
Mr. Haamaundu has encouraged the local council’s to ensure that they embrace the partnership between ZRA and the Local Council’.
He said urged ZRA to quickly consider including other local authorities across the country adding the local authorities have the capacity to take up the assignment of tax collections on behalf of ZRA.
Mr Hamaundu added that government would support the decentralization of the partnership between local council’s and the Zambia Revenue Authority to improve tax compliance levels in all council’s across the country.
This was according to a speech that read on his behalf by Ministry Director Planning and information Dr. Ngoza Munthali.
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