from DANAI MWARUMBWA in Harare, Zimbabwe
HARARE, (CAJ News) – THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has exceeded its collection target for 2020, as the agency’s adoption of technology pays off.
The revenue collector announced on Thursday (today) it recorded an above target collection of ZWL$181,96 billion (over US$502 million) for the period.
This is 5,85 percent above the target of ZWL$171,9 billion.
This result presented a real growth of 74,93 percent compared to 2019 collections, inflation-adjusted.
ZIMRA’s drive to widen the tax base through registration of new taxpayers resulted in an additional 21 623 new clients in 2020.
These contributed ZWL$558,2 million against a target of ZWL$218,7 million.
Foreign currency collections for 2020 amounted to US$787,85 million, the substantial collections realised after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe authorised local trade using free funds by individuals and corporates, through Statutory Instrument 85 of 2020.
This was to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Treasury appreciates ongoing efforts by the Authority to meet set targets, it is important to assess such performance against the maximum potential to collect revenues, in particular, considering the untapped potential concealed in various policies that still require full implementation,” said Minister of Finance, Prof. Mthuli Ncube.
Ncube had encouraged the revenue authority to enhance the Information Technology Platform.
This is key in electronically connecting operators, agents and general taxpayers to facilitate seamless and uninterrupted connectivity, thereby guaranteeing prompt payment of taxes, regardless of geographical location of taxpayers.
Meanwhile, six main sectors contributed 81 percent of the revenue for 2020.
These were mining and quarrying, finance and insurance, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, information and communication technology (ICT) as well as agriculture, forestry and fishing.
– CAJ News