Sales tax will enable the country benefit from mining – JCTR

Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has welcomed the decision by government to introduce sales tax to replace value added tax.

Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe announced during the 2019 budget presentation that government will abolish Value Added Tax (VAT) and replace it with a non-refundable sales tax in April 2019, a move likely to help the government boost revenue collection and bring down mounting debt.

JCTR Social and Economic Program Officer, Innocent Ndashe is confident that the introduced sales tax will enhance the country’s beneficiation from the mining sector.

In an interview with QTV News, Mr Ndashe says for a long time, the country has been losing tax revenue from the mining sector which otherwise could have been channeled towards infrastructure development in the health and education sectors among others.

Mr. Ndashe adds that the decision by government to abolish VAT will in the long run help address financial linkages and further enhance tax administration.