Govt firm on domestic revenue target

 Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe has expressed confidence in the Malawi Re venue Authority (MRA) that it will beat the projected tax revenue target for this year.

The minister said this in an interview yesterday after touring MRA’s Msonkho House in Blantyre to appreciate how the authority is executing its operations.

Gwengwe said MRA has made notable and commendable investment in automation, stating that revenue collection needs to be automated to make filling and paying of taxes easier.

“I am assured and the team is fired up to enhance their taxpayer relations so that people should see paying taxes

 as something that builds the nation. We want people to be looking at paying taxes as their obligation.

“We are also confident that the strategies put in place for the enhancement of tax collection in this financial year will surely hit the targets and even surpass the target once we roll them out,” he  said.

Gwengwe said the government does not want to overtax taxpayers but it is the current governments strategy to widen the tax net.

“We are looking at even the small taxpayers to ensure that everyone contributes to the tax net. There are also other plans enshrined in the Domes t i c Re v en u e Mobilisation Strategy which I am sure will enable the government to collect more and even reach a surpass,” he said.

In his remarks, MRA board chairperson Vizenge Kumwenda said although the target might be a challenge, the authority will do its best to collect what it can.

“The economy is facing a lot of challenges and each day we are facing more and more. But still within that context we are expected to deliver because the government still has to deliver and provide social services to its people,” he said.

In the 2022/23 financial year, the government is projecting total revenues and grants at K1.956 trillion, representing 17.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Of the K1.956 trillion, domestic revenues are estimated at K1.636 trillion, of which tax revenues are estimated at K1.528 trillion while other revenues have been estimated at K107.8 billion