NGOCC CALLS ON THE NEW GOVERNMENT TO HEED TO PEOPLE’S CALLS OF BROADENING THE TAX BASE

the non governmental organization coordinating council has called on the new government of president michael sata to heed to people’s calls of broadening the tax base  in order to make the country become more independent from external loans and aid.
in its submission to the ministry of finance and national planning for possible consideration in the national budget to be presented to parliament on the 11th of this month, ngocc says in order to strive for independent and sustainable revenue, there is need to collect revenue from the informal sector, such as the real estate market.
the organization has stated that a wealth tax needs to be introduced and enforced in place of the current withholding tax on rentals as this will ensure that even people with houses that they live in pay tax based on the value of the house adding that currently, only those people who rent out their properties pay.
the ngo has suggested that a minimum value of a property that should be subjected to wealth tax should be established in order to exclude low income groups that may own property of low value and tax inspectors should be trained in property valuation to be able to value properties correctly and collect appropriate property transfer tax revenue.
the women’s movement has stressed that there is need for more transparency regarding tax payments, such as the medical and fuel levy and the newly introduced carbon tax stating that there is no transparency about where the medical levy, which is deducted from citizens bank accounts, is allocated in the health sector.
and ngocc has stated that the tax payer has the right to be explicitly informed about where their money is going to and to what extent it is benefiting the public adding that limited information and secrecy on tax allocations, makes people doubt that their money is actually used for the intended purpose.
it says to avoid corruption and mismanagement of taxation, which impedes poverty reduction and social equality, detailed information and budget tracking evidence needs to be provided to the zambian tax payer.