The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) says it anticipates substantial allocations to key sectors, including critical areas such as education and healthcare in the 2024 national budget.
CTPD Public Finance Management Researcher Matrina Mumba says this emphasises the need for the urgency of resource generation, stating that the government should expedite the process of finalising investment deals for the mines that are currently not operational, thus ensuring they can make a substantial contribution to the revenue pool.
She further adds that the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) must bolster its tax administration and enforcement capabilities to fortify revenue streams and enhance the performance of underperforming tax categories.
Ms. Mumba notes that the first half of 2023 has been characterised by unmet tax revenue targets despite tax revenue mobilisation being of paramount importance to Zambia’s budget financing as it reduces dependency on external sources of financing.
She says according to ZRA, in the first half of the year, tax revenues declined by 6.3% of the target compared to the same period in 2022 and the differences were observed across four tax categories namely; Company Tax which declined by 29.1%, Mineral Royalty by 23.2%, Customs Duty by 13% and domestic value added tax (VAT) declined by 6.8%.
