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*MPs Reject Proposal To Jail Tax Defaulters*

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Members of Parliament across the political divide have rejected Finance and Economic Development Minister, Mthuli Ncube’s proposal to criminalise non-payment of taxes, saying civil penalties should remain in place.

The matter came up during a debate on the Finance Bill in the National Assembly on Thursday.

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The legislators argued that Clause 22, in which Ncube proposes the imprisonment of individuals who default on tax obligations, has no place in Zimbabwe.

Dzivaresekwa MP, Edwin Mushoriwa (MDC Alliance), said:

> The basis upon which we disagree with this provision is that paying tax is a civil matter.

> It is wrong to criminalise someone who has failed to pay his/her tax. It is wrong to send someone to prison primarily because you have taken it as a criminal matter.

> You will note that in terms of taxation in this country, everybody knows that as Zimbabweans, we are one of the most highly taxed people in the world.

Buhera South MP, Joseph Chinotimba (ZANU PF), argued that some employers are struggling to pay taxes and sending them to jail would be counterproductive. Said Chinotimba:

> It is very painful for us as blacks in our lives. What it means is that your employer may delay to give you a salary but it becomes your fault at the end of the day.

> The sentence is just too much, two years in jail is not practical. I think the Minister needs to re-visit and make it a civil case and not make it a criminal offence for failing to pay taxes.

> Some of us as employers are struggling to pay those taxes. If you send them to jail, we would have destroyed many families because of one person.

Harare East MP Tendai Biti (CCC) also said the criminalisation of failure to pay tax is “very regrettable.” Biti said:

> It is very wrong, particularly Value Added Tax which is what we are talking about.

> Value Added Tax is paid on the sale of goods or services and you know that for the majority of our business in Zimbabwe, we actually operate on the basis of invoices that you issue out.

> Once you issue an invoice, then you wait for your customers or your clients to pay as Hon. Chinotimba stated.

> The law now says because we use an accrual system of accounting, the obligation to pay VAT does not arise on the payment of the invoice.

> The obligation to pay VAT arises upon the levying of the invoice. It is immediate.

Biti added that businesses are not paying VAT not because they don’t want to but because their customers have not paid hence non-payment of tax should not be criminalised. | CITE

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