KABANDA CHULU, Lusaka
UNITED Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) executive director Carlos Lopes says Zambia must implement an efficient tax policy system that will capture many people and companies to improve revenue collection.
Responding to questions from journalists at a media briefing yesterday, Dr Lopes said Zambia should learn from Ethiopia, which has managed to put almost everyone on board as a taxpayer.
“Better taxation provides additional revenue to fund government budgets, so efficiency in tax collection is vital. Ethiopia, which has a much bigger population than Zambia, has done it. Everyone is paying tax in that country and it can also happen here,” he said.
Dr Lopes, however, said the Zambian economy is performing better than most African countries.
“Despite challenges that forced Government to revise downwards the country’s economic growth rate from seven percent to 5.8 percent, Zambia is still ahead of other African nations and we expect the country to perform better,” he said.
On the proposed borrowing to finance the budget deficit, Dr Lopes said the loans are manageable.
“People should not be worried on whether Zambia will pay or not, but should be more concerned about the timing of the repayment period so that interest rates can be lower than the anticipated ones,” he said.