Mines’ sincerity on Sales Tax queried
MINING firms should never complain about the new Sales Tax to be implemented on July 1 because they generate meaningful profits from their operations, Islamic Supreme Council president, Suzyo Zimba, has said.
Mr Zimba advised Government against tolerating the mining firms’ continued manoeuvres on the new tax because it would not affect them as much as it would affect the citizens. He told the Daily Nation in an interview yesterday, it was embarrassing that the mining firms were not being truthful about the Sales Tax. Mr Zimba observed that the mining firms should not be tolerated as they always wanted to coax the state into doing whatever they wanted. “Look the mines have never been straight, this is why we need an audit in all mining houses. They will lie that they are taking out copper and yet there are other products that they are taking out,” he said. He said the mining firms were detrimental to national development because they tended to oppose anything tangible that government planned to implement. “Right now, the people who should complain about the Sales Tax are the Zambians as they are the ones who will be badly affected especially when they buy goods. Not the mines,” he said. He advised the mines to be sincere over the new Sales Tax as it would not affect them as much as it would affect the individual consumers. “And I want to urge the government not to always listen to what the mines are saying because all they do is oppose whatever government plans to implement,” Mr Zimba said. Recently Lumwana Mines complained that it would be a matter of life and death if government implemented the new Sales Tax. The mining firm said the new tax regime would adversely affect its operations and make it incur loses. Mr Zimba appealed to the government to consider reducing the rate of Sales Tax to cushion its effect on customers.