A tax expert says the successful implementation of the 2016/2017 national budget depends on whether or not the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) will be able to put in place strategies to widen the tax net to maximise revenue collection so as to meet the targets set by the Minister of Finance, Goodall Gondwe.
The expert, Emmanuel Kaluluma, who previously worked as Commissioner of Customs at MRA, has also backed government on its proposal to generate 73 percent of the resources needed to execute the budget from taxes collected within the country arguing that Malawi has the capacity to finance its development needs.
Two weeks ago, Finance Minister, Goodall Gondwe, presented to Parliament the 2016/17 financial plan with tax revenue pegged at K708.8 billion.
The revenue estimate comes against a backdrop of economic slowdown which has in turn also affected operations of the private sector.
According to Kaluluma, funding the national budget this year would, therefore, require MRA to broaden the tax base to ensure that eligible tax payers are included in the tax net.
“In my view, it is practical. As a country, we have resources that once mobilised can be put together so that government is able to run its programmes.
“What comes to my mind is the compliance issue; if every one of us was paying their correct tax liability, government could be able to realise the revenue it is looking for,” he said.
He then suggested that government could expand the tax net by incorporating taxes on passive income, which is the income people earn without engaging in active business activities including rental income, bank interests and consultancy fees.
Commenting on the proposed amendments to the Customs Act as announced by MRA, Kaluluma said the move aims at safeguarding the country’s private sector from a crunch as it focuses on imported goods.
“These taxes are trying to protect our infant industry. We should look at it positively instead of getting a lot of goods, we are exporting the jobs,” said Kaluluma.
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