I was shocked to listen to this "enlightened citizen" on what Government should do about taxes to businesses in order to improve the business climate. Unfortunately he touched an area I have great interest in - Taxes!
I don't know why people in Zambia think business can only do well when they don't pay taxes! Please! Businesses have to take taxes into account whenever they take all other costs into account! What sense will that bring? A company will be better off not paying taxes and not have infrastructure or buildings to operate from? Or be exposed to all manner of crime? Or operate without knowing what tomorrow will be like as there may be a possibility of war or demonstrations?
Taxes have a serious place in a country and will mean the success or failure of a company. They enable a government to operate, carry out policies, employ law enforcement and construct roads and airports which the same company paying taxes will use to either sell his produce or transport it to its clients. Bottom line, it makes a country function. Failure to pay taxes results in a country borrowing money which will mean its citizens have to pay more taxes, or run-down infrastructure! If companies don't pay taxes, the government will still need to function and so citizen will be taxed more in PAYE, VAT or other taxes to raise the much needed cash.
So, anyone talking about taxes should really understand the situation on the ground before they open their mouth. Zambia is surrounded by poverty! It relies on donors to meet some expenses! So the taxes are not raising enough revenue for its operations. Remember the gold rule of economics - Never borrow for consumption! You can only borrow for investment as you are assured of raising the borrowed amounts. So as long as the government is borrowing to meet consumption purposes, we are doomed! And since our taxes have not yielded enough money to run the basic functions of government, we should never even think of avoiding taxes! Taxes to an economics exist as real as death to any human being. Death is certain, and so taxes are also certain.
I think we all need to take a different approach to taxation and move with them in a way that we respect paying taxes! It is shocking to find even church leaders want to buy vehicles without paying taxes!? Money donated by the people. That money donated has actually a law which will allow people donating to claim taxes out of it! I'm sorry, but that is real greedy and we must root this out and as Zambians understand that taxes are what makes Zambia!
We will gain more by being patriotic by paying taxes than buying flags at the time of a football match. Imagine if each Zambian spent K20,000.00 for the betterment of the country or to help the country with infrastructure development? That's how University of Zambia was built. And now people's children are getting an education unmatched! This is an example of a tax working. So we should now make it a point and make sure foreign investors understand that much as we appreciate the business they bring here, they should pay for peace, infrastructure, stability, resources, human capital and so on. They can do that by paying taxes. These in turn will make them have a business to run and move along. Remember, they are just here to make money - nothing else! If it was not for money, they would have not been here.
