ZACCI DEMANDS CLARITY ON SALES TAX

GOVERNMENT must urgently address the uncertainties being created by the deferments of the planned introduction of the general sales tax, says the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI) says,

ZCCI president Chabuka Kawesha said they were concerned over the lack of clarity on the sales tax issue, saying if allowed to continue, it would cause uncertainties in the economy.

He was reacting to the Government decision to defer the implementation of the Sales Tax from July 2019 to September 2019.

Dr Kawesha said in an interview in Lusaka that government needed to address the uncertainties being created before the 2020 national budget as this could affect investment decision by entrepreneurs both large and small.

“We are approaching the window of addressing and preparing submissions towards the 2020 National Budget and the probability of tax changes conditional on the expected tax rates, can affect many investment decisions by entrepreneurs both large and small,” Dr Kawesha said.

He said if there was need for further consultation on the pros and cons of both VAT and Sales Tax before it was implemented it would be prudent to do so now.

He advised the arms of government tasked to address this matter need more time to engage various stakeholders within Government as well as with the industry so as to come up with a solid solution.

Dr Kawesha advised the government to allow an 18 months period so as to fully exhaust all arguments and proposals from stakeholders.

Policy uncertainty, he warned, had shown to reduce investment and to cause firms and individuals to misallocate resources which in turn impacted on society.