Real or Fake, Diaspora tax should be effected!

A lot of noise has already been made by different sections of the society regarding the introduction of diaspora tax by the Government. Different positions have been shared on social media regarding the matter, with some distancing themselves. Whether the claim is genuine or fake, the idea remains a noble one and worthy some recognition and I will tell you why.

Zimbabwe is trying to craft a host of measures that can help in reshaping the economic trajectory following close to two decades of economic quagmire. Like the Minister of Finance, Prof. Mthuli Ncube reiterated, the measures to be implemented in trying to turn around the economic fortunes are going to be painful now but paying off in the near future. The diaspora tax is one of them.

The political and economic instability that characterized Zimbabwe from 2000 onwards led to large numbers of Zimbabweans leaving the country. Almost a quarter of the Zimbabwean population is in the diaspora and surely to ignore such a constituency from contributing to the fiscas through paying tax would be a hit below the belt.

Their destinations vary from neighbouring Southern African countries to as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the USA and other countries.

These diasporas acquired education and skills from the country while also benefiting from tax payer's contribution, and because of the hunt for greener pastures they left to where they are benefiting those countries. We need to take the effects of this out-migration head on and one way to do this is to make sure the diasporas pay tax.

Out-migration brought negative impact on the country's human capital base and in particular national training institutions. Since independence, Zimbabweans had benefited from high standards of education and receiving countries have been quick to seize upon the opportunity to make use of the skills Zimbabweans have acquired. But were these skills acquired without tax payer's contributions?

Medical doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, as well as large numbers of semi-skilled and unskilled workers are now plying their trade in the diaspora. Some were even beneficiaries of the Government grants that they never paid back. Surely, against this background would it be a miss to ask such a pool of professionals to help in building the country through tax payment? It is known that the diaspora is inscribing some political connotations to the introduction of this tax. Their argument is that they can't contribute to the fiscas where they are not accorded their democratic right to vote.

The answer to this is a simple one, His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, while attending the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York some two weeks ago assured that come 2023, the diasporas will be accorded an opportunity to vote. But then for proper systems to be put in place, diaspora's hand is needed through tax payment.

Tax payment should be a shared responsibility amongst all the Zimbabwean citizenry regardless of your geographic location. When you come back home you want to see good infrastructure, improved services amongst other amenities.

Rebuilding the country and contributing to the fiscas should not be a preserve for those in the country alone for they do not have an identity monopoly. Citizenship comes with responsibility, so if one is living in any part of the world where they are paying taxes, naturally they have to be able to do the same for their mother country. One cannot continue to have a Zimbabwean citizenship tag without sharing the responsibilities that comes with being a citizen like paying taxes.