Story by Tichaona Kurewa
ZIMBABWE’S revenue collection system is being digitised to plug loopholes in tax collection, improve efficiency and accountability as well as to curb fraudulent activities.
The Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS), being funded by a grant from the African Development Bank and the Government of Zimbabwe, is aligned with National Development Strategy One priorities which include the ease of doing business, widening the tax base, and enabling a digital economy.
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Commissioner General Ms Regina Chinamasa recently told ZBC News in Victoria Falls that the new tax system has been successfully installed.
“We have also implemented automation as one of our drivers to revenue collection, we will be deploying our tax revenue management system (TaRMS), which is a new system that we are adopting this year in this month of October. So, this new system will bring about efficiencies in terms of creating ease of doing business for our taxpayers, lodging of returns, registration, payments and also for accountability purposes where we bring about capabilities to report real time to our principals so that they can make informed decisions especially our treasury,” she said.
The new system will enable data sharing across government agencies and departments.
“What it also does is helps us to integrate with other government agencies, the call has been let’s have an all government approach that can only happen in an integrated environment where you have systems integrated, you share data real time. It will be integrated into the civil registry, company registrar and deeds. It also interacted with financial services providers; banks, mobile money transfers operators to ensure the people make payments at their convenience. What it does is it helps us to identify the taxpayer, whether it’s a person or it’s a company or it’s a trust, we are able then to validate that information in real time,” she added.
Government is on a drive to modernise its systems in line with the vision to attain an upper middle-income society by 2030.
