Zimra faces significant debt

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) faces a significant debt of US$421.4 million and ZiG854.72 million from both private companies and public institutions by the end of the first half of 2024. The debt mainly arises from new assessments from audits and investigations (80%) and uncollected debt (20%). Zimra is employing various strategies to recover these taxes.

Despite the debt, Zimra reported net revenue of ZiG36.06 billion, surpassing the target of ZiG35.39 billion by 1.88%. The introduction of a new currency has stabilized the economy, leading to swift adaptations by businesses. New tax revenue targets were introduced in May 2024 to align with these changes.

Positive revenue performance in individual income tax, value-added tax on local sales, customs duty, and intermediated money transfer tax resulted from initiatives to enhance revenue generation, higher contributions in June, increased company remuneration, improved consumption patterns, and more electronic transactions. However, competition from the informal sector and economic instability caused some shortfalls in collections.

Zimra projects to collect over ZiG55 billion in the second half of 2024, with a focus on increasing revenue to support national development and ensure economic stability through strategic measures to improve tax compliance and administration efficiency.