‘Thoughtless, I’ll-conceived,’ EFF’s Mwenda slams UPND over Minimum Alternative Tax

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader, Kasonde Mwenda, has condemned the UPND government for introducing the Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) under the Income Tax Act, describing the measure as reckless and insensitive.

Mwenda said the revenue policy amounted to an assault on Zambia’s entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the backbone of the rural economy.

In a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday, Mwenda described the legislation as thoughtless, ill-conceived, and outright heartless.

“By slapping a blanket 1% tax on gross turnover, regardless of profit or loss, the government is targeting those who toil day and night to put food on the table — from the smallholder farmer with rotational crops to the corner shop owner grappling with ever-rising costs,” he said.

He argued that the unintended consequences of MAT were already evident, including worsening rural poverty, hunger among smallholder farmers paying taxes even in unprofitable years, and plummeting morale among small business owners leading to closures, job losses, and economic hardship.

Mwenda further warned that the measure created a hostile environment for genuine economic diversification, allowing only large corporations to thrive while pushing ordinary Zambians to the margins.

“This is a failure of leadership, vision, and empathy from the UPND government — a government that promised economic growth and inclusive prosperity but instead delivers policies that stifle the hardworking masses,” Mwenda said.

He called for the immediate revocation of the legislation, questioning why struggling local farmers should be taxed while multinational mining firms benefit from tax breaks.

“Take the example of an ordinary Zambian in agriculture, who rotates crops but depends on maize as the mainstay. In years of low rainfall or market shocks, profits vanish, yet the MAT forces them to pay tax on every kwacha earned, even if the harvest barely breaks even or runs at a loss,” Mwenda said.

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