By Promise Dube
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has announced a 30-day voluntary disclosure offer for individuals and firms who have built homes or purchased assets worth US$100,000 or more but have excluded any additional revenue in their tax forms submitted to the authority.
According to ZIMRA, this step was intended to encourage voluntary compliance and to allow company operations and social life to continue normally and lawfully by meeting any tax requirements that taxpayers may not have met.
Taxpayers were required to furnish schedules describing the outstanding taxes, complete the outstanding returns, and pay the tax due or engage the authority for an arrangement to pay the tax due in order to be eligible for voluntary disclosure.
In a public notice, ZIMRA invited people of all backgrounds to take advantage of the opportunity, noting that anyone wishing to submit their voluntary disclosure should do so within 30 days, because after that time, any case will be addressed in accordance with the law.
“Any persons who have constructed houses that cost US$100 000 or more, any person who have traded or are trading in gold or other minerals, luxury vehicle owners (vehicles worth US$150 000 or more), owners of private jets or lessons of private jets, middlemen or agents of goods manufactured in Zimbabwe, transport operators and taxi operators, any person or companies who have constructed buildings with a value of US$100 000 or more,” read the public notice.
ZIMRA requires people to make sure that they pay their tax if they earned any income through business or trade that is taxable.
“It is a requirement that any person should ensure that if they earned any income,through business or trade,which is subject to tax, the tax should be paid,”ZIMRA emphasizes.
According to ZIMRA people will be expected to pay different types of taxes in carrying out business or trade.
These include Value Added Tax (VAT), which is tax on goods and services supplied where the seller met registration threshold;
Income tax, which is tax on income received or accrued from sales of goods and or services;
Capital Gains Tax, which is tax on disposal of immovable property, marketable securities and intangibles and PAYE, which is tax on income earned by employees where employers are required to deduct the tax and remit to ZIMRA.
ZIMRA said requirements for voluntary disclosure for taxpayers were to provide schedules detailing the outstanding taxes, complete the outstanding returns and pay the tax due or engage the authority for arrangement to pay the tax due.
The revenue authority said interest shall be charged to the extent provided in the law.
“The commissioner shall give due consideration to penalties liable where full and complete declarations are made. The submission of a true and full voluntary disclosure shall not trigger an audit.This window shall expire within 30 days from date of publication. Any cases of non-compliance that may be established thereafter shall be treated based on the full tenets of the law,”read the public notice.
Those who are willing to submit their voluntary disclosure should not be later than 30 days ,and any case will be treated according to what the law says.
These applications must be submitted at the nearest ZIMRA offices.
“Voluntary disclosure applications must be submitted at the nearest ZIMRA office for processing,” said the authority.
