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Mr Pasi

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has recommended Government to reduce taxes for retailers as the influx of illegal vendors in cities and towns is threatening their survival.

Zimra commissioner general Mr Gershem Pasi said this was in light of challenges that many retailers were facing as they have to contend with vendors who sell their wares on pavements in front of their shops.

Retailers argue that the vendors are crippling their operations as they often sell similar goods to theirs at lower prices, disadvantaging them as they have to pay rent and taxes.

Mr Pasi said the influx of vendors had also contributed to the high rate of tax evasion.

Zimra is owed over $1 billion in unpaid taxes, a situation blamed on the current economic challenges.

“The levels of presumptive taxes given the current set-up we believe they are a bit on the high side and perhaps we need to reduce them so that we encourage more people to comply, because the higher the rates and especially with a difficult economic set-up like we have there is a higher incentive for people not to comply,” said Mr Pasi.

“We are receiving complaints from formalised businesses that with the mushrooming of vendors almost everywhere in our cities they find that they are no longer able to do sufficient business to meet their tax obligations.

“They find it now difficult to pay their rates, their income tax obligations, so it is a challenge which I think needs to be addressed.”

Mr Pasi said a proposal had been made to Treasury.

“Of course with these challenges we are always looking at how best we can improve or deal with them and one of them is a recommendation which we are making to the Ministry of Finance to review the rates down and when the economy improves, we can them see whether there will be scope to increasing the rates,” he added.

Zimra granted a tax amnesty for all classes of taxpayers for tax offenses committed between February 1, 2009 and September 30, 2014. – New Ziana.