Some sections of Zimbabwe have, as part of submission to the 2027 National Budget public hearings, suggested the introduction of a land tax targeting owners who leave agricultural land idle.
The submissions have put spotlight on issues of land utilisation, agricultural productivity and the potential impact on rural communities.
The proposal, which seeks to make it more expensive to hold land without putting it to productive use, was presented by Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion, Lincoln Dhliwayo, during a pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo last week.
Dhliwayo said participants had called for a review of the existing two percent land tax cost, arguing tax on unused land could encourage beneficiaries of the land reform programme to put their properties to productive use.
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“Then another proposal had to do with the land tax. In this case, the participants were saying to try and make sure people do not leave land idle, they have to be charged a certain amount so that it becomes costly to keep idle land,” said Dhliwayo.
“Once we make it costly to keep idle land, then everyone will try to make sure that that land is productive.”
He said the seminar had proposed reviewing the two percent land tax, leaving it to the Ministry of Finance to determine the appropriate amount or percentage.
The proposal received a cautious response from Finance Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, who said he would consult the Minister of Lands and Rural Development, Vangelis Peter Haritatos, on the possibility of introducing the measure.
“Very interesting proposal on land tax rather than, you know, maybe introducing a ‘use it or lose it’ principle. We are saying that if you don’t use it, we’ll tax it,” he said.
“It’s an interesting proposal. I shall also have a conversation with the Minister for Lands, Minister of Lands and Rural Development Vangelis Peter Haritatos, on this and see if it’s something that we can introduce just to force our citizens to use the land that was hard fought for.”
The proposal comes amid longstanding concerns about the utilisation of agricultural land following Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform programme, which redistributed land previously held by commercial farmers to indigenous Zimbabweans.
However, the suggestion has also raised questions about how such a tax would be implemented, particularly whether it would apply to communal landholders and how the government would distinguish between deliberate non-utilisation and circumstances beyond a farmer’s control.
Zimbabwe Communist Party secretary-general Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena warned introducing land taxation without careful consideration of its historical implications could revive painful memories of colonial-era taxation, which was among the grievances that fuelled resistance to colonial rule.
Mabhena said taxation imposed on indigenous people during the colonial period, including hut, land and cattle taxes, had contributed to the grievances that ultimately fed into the liberation struggle.
“One of the factors that led to the liberation struggle can also affect communal farmers. Some of the grievances that people had were hut tax and land tax, cattle tax,” he said.
He questioned whether the proposed measure would extend to communal land, warning that some rural households might not have the financial resources or capacity to utilise their land fully.
“It’s not clear from the submissions whether this will affect communal land as well, because some rural folk may be incapacitated to use their land,” said Mabhena.
His concerns point to the need for clarity on the proposed tax’s scope, particularly given the different land tenure arrangements and economic circumstances across Zimbabwe’s farming communities.
During colonial rule, taxation was also used as an instrument of economic and political control. Hut and poll taxes imposed on indigenous Africans compelled many households to seek wage employment to meet their tax obligations, while land policies entrenched racial inequalities in access to agricultural resources.
The Land Apportionment Act of 1930 formalised racial divisions in land ownership, reserving large areas of prime agricultural land for the white minority while restricting the majority of indigenous Africans to overcrowded and often less productive reserves.
Although the current proposal is presented as a measure to promote agricultural productivity rather than as a mechanism of coercion, Mabhena’s concerns highlight the importance of making sure any new tax does not disproportionately burden rural households with limited resources.
Beyond land taxation, the pre-budget consultations also highlighted challenges affecting agricultural production, particularly the late distribution of farming inputs and delayed payments to farmers who deliver their produce to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
Dhliwayo said farmers had complained that government-supported agricultural inputs, including those distributed under presidential input schemes, often arrived too late in the season to be useful.
“Many times you would find that those presidential inputs or inputs that are given to our farmers, they may come late in January when the farming season is almost over,” said the legislator.
He said participants had called on the Finance Ministry to make sure funding for agricultural inputs was released in time for farmers to prepare for the planting season.
The consultations also heard concerns about delayed payments by the GMB, which Dhliwayo said were undermining farmers’ ability to recover production costs and prepare for subsequent agricultural seasons.
“Whenever they submit their harvest or their product, then they are paid too late. They cannot cover their costs. They cannot go back to their farms,” he said.
He called for farmers to be paid promptly after delivering their produce to encourage continued production.
The seminar also proposed expanding irrigation infrastructure and water harvesting initiatives to improve agricultural productivity especially in areas vulnerable to changing rainfall patterns.
Other submissions included calls for tougher penalties against counterfeit imports, particularly fake food, medicines and agricultural inputs, to protect public health and consumers.
The Ministry of Finance is expected to consider the submissions as it prepares the 2027 National Budget.
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