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Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, has directed the Ministry to intensify revenue collection by improving tax compliance, enforcement and efficiency across existing revenue streams.
Musokotwane said Zambia needed to maximise revenue from both tax and non-tax sources while closing loopholes through which public funds were being lost.
In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, he said stronger domestic revenue mobilisation would require sustained institutional effort, particularly in addressing weak compliance, smuggling, tax avoidance and evasion.
“We have to work very hard to improve revenue collection,” Musokotwane said.
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He was speaking yesterday during a strategic visioning and brainstorming session with management and staff at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
Musokotwane said improving the efficiency of existing revenue collection systems would help strengthen confidence in the tax system and encourage voluntary compliance.
He also called for greater accountability and public awareness on the importance of obtaining receipts, saying revenue due to the State should be collected systematically rather than treated as optional.
The Minister urged public institutions to take greater responsibility in supporting tax collection and compliance efforts.
He said enforcement should also be strengthened through increased operational presence on the ground to curb smuggling and other forms of revenue leakage.
At the same time, Musokotwane called for wider use of electronic tax administration to improve efficiency and strengthen revenue collection.
He said stronger domestic revenue mobilisation was critical to enabling Zambia to take greater ownership of its development agenda and improve public services.
Musokotwane said the Government’s approach was focused on improving revenue yields through compliance, digitalisation, enforcement and administrative efficiency while maintaining a stable and predictable tax regime for businesses and investors.
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