LIES IRK ZRA CHIEF …
...threatens to spill the beans on cheating mines.
THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has threatened to expose cheating mining firms over claims that Government owed the industry US$1 billion (equivalent to
K18 billion) in unpaid Value Added Tax ( VAT).
ZRA Commissioner-General, Kingsley Chanda said that mining firms were the ones owing Government and that the ZRA remained silent because it was bound by tax payer confidentiality.
THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has threatened to expose cheating mining firms over claims that Government owed the industry US$1 billion (equivalent to K18 billion) in unpaid Value Added Tax (VAT).
ZRA Commissioner-General, Kingsley Chanda said that mining firms were the ones owing Government and that the ZRA remained silent because it was bound by tax payer confidentiality.
He was speaking in Kitwe yesterday. Mr Chanda said that the ZRA did not discuss individual taxpayer accounts to the public but was ready to disclose everything if false statements continue.
“I have asked the director of mines to write to the Chamber of Mines to confirm if the statement was sanctioned by mining firms, and if it turns out to be true, we will have no choice but to tell the public the truth,” said Mr Chanda.
Daily Nation investigations revealed that the mining industry owed Government in excess of K19.68bn in unpaid tax revenue.
Mr Chanda said the Chamber of Mines must state the truth instead of issuing statements which could discourage investment in the country.
He insisted that the statement by ZCM that Government owed mining firms in taxes was not factual but was meant to destabilise the economy of the country.
Mr Chanda said that it was such alarming statements that would harm the country’s economy, hence should be avoided at all costs.
In a document titled “A policy brief for a post Covid-19 Zambian Economy: The road to Recovery, the Chamber of Mines claimed that the government through the ZRA owed the mining industry in excess of US$1bn in unpaid VAT refunds.
The chamber insists that Government owed the industry US$1bn (equivalent to K18bn) in unpaid Value Added Tax (VAT).
But Mr Chanda challenged the chamber to be factual and not spread myths whenever it decided to communicate about confidential matters to the public.