CONTEMPORARY ISSUES ON TAXATION DISCUSSED

MEFMI conducted an in country workshop on Contemporary Issues in Taxation from 10 to 21 October 2016 for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Zimbabwe.  The event was held in Mutare, Zimbabwe and brought together 15 participants from seven (7) departments of the Ministry, namely; Fiscal Policy and Advisory Services, Accountant General, Debt Management Office, Revenue and Tax Policy, Financial and Capital Markets, Public Sector Investment Programme and International Cooperation. Female and male representation stood at 4 (27%) and 11 (73%), respectively.

The specific objectives of the workshop were to enable participants to appreciate recent developments in taxation by equipping them with knowledge, skills and techniques that guide tax policy formulation and updating them with recent developments in taxation that affect the Zimbabwe tax structure.

The experts presented and discussed with workshop participants on various topics. The first week of the workshop focused on topics that incldue:

• principles of taxation;

• tax types & their roles (VAT, import duty, income tax and  excise duties);

• taxation challenges:

• tax incentives & taxation;

• taxation challenges: corruption and taxation;

•  review of tax structure in MEFMI region;

• use of technology in taxation: challenges & opportunities;

• tax reform & its implementation;

• understanding tax policy & tax administration;

• semi-autonomous revenue administration and

•  taxation and development.

The second week focused on:

• International tax: basic inbounds;

•  international tax: basic out bounds;

• base erosion & profit sharing & international headwinds;

•  incentives: overview;

• incentives: production incentives;

•  Zimbabwe activities & permanent establishment;

• small business taxation;

• basic domestic tax; employer & employee taxation;

• tax leakage-background and

• transfer pricing.

The lectures and group sessions were structured on strengthening participants’ knowledge of taxation. Participants were divided in three (3) groups and each group was requested to make a presentation at the end of each day. The presentations were focused on tax reforms in Zimbabwe, Cross-Border taxation (inbound and outbound); identifying tax incentives in the tax legislation of Zimbabwe; domestic tax gaps and transfer pricing. The main output from the workshop was the ability of participants to conceptualize various contemporary issues in taxation and the ability to apply the concepts into the Zimbabwe tax structure. This indicated that participants understood the content of the workshop and the main objectives were achieved.

The workshop resource team was made up of Mr. Joseline Ogai (Deputy Commissioner) from the Kenya Revenue Authority and Professor Keith Engel (Chief Executive Officer) from the South African Institute of Tax Professionals. Mr. Ogai facilitated during the first week while Professor Engel took over the second week of workshop.