‘High taxes hampering media growth’
Nkhoma CCAP Synod moderator Vasco Kachipapa has called on Parliament to lobby government on reducing the duty imposed on broadcasting equipment.
He was speaking on Thursday when the Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information and Communication toured the synod’s Nkhoma FM Radio in Lilongwe.
Kachipapa believes the duty was a stumbling block to the growth of the country’s broadcasting sector which he says has the potential to help develop the country.
He said: “To some extent, we find this [imposed duty] as detrimental to our plans as a media house to go national as is stipulated in the broadcasting licence we obtained from Macra [Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority].”
Chairperson of the committee Sam Kawale concurred with Kachipapa, saying his committee has already submitted a report to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development on the same and were now waiting for its response.
“It doesn’t really make sense to have such taxing duties on the equipment simply because the Treasury wants to collect some hefty taxes at once,” he said. n
