An Analysis of Gender Equality and Tax Policies in Zimbabwe

by | May 21, 2023 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2023 I1

An Analysis of Gender Equality and Tax Policies in Zimbabwe

Author: Learnmore Nyamu Zanga

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: Committee on Fiscal Studies (CFS)
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, 2023 Issue 1, p. 273–302
https://doi.org/10.47348/AMTJ/V3/i1a14

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between gender equality and tax policies in Zimbabwe. It focuses on direct and indirect taxes, and explicit and implicit gender biases in the current tax system. The study under review used desktop research and a gender-disaggregated tax-incidence analysis to find that Zimbabwe’s tax laws do not have any explicit bias against women. However, indirect taxes like value-added tax, informal taxes and trade taxes, which make up 60 per cent of all tax revenue, have implicit biases against women that are hard to see. Tax data needs to be genderdisaggregated to ensure that the total revenue mix is fair to women and supports gender-transformative tax policies, both in terms of how revenue is raised and how it is spent. To increase revenue and reduce implicit bias against women, the government must close loopholes for illicit financial f lows, increase progressive taxes, evaluate incentives, and eliminate harmful incentives.

Assessment of Impact of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area on Tax Revenue in Malawi

by | May 21, 2023 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2023 I1

Assessment of Impact of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area on Tax Revenue in Malawi

Author: Miriam Banda Mhango

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: Senior Tax Policy Analyst – Policy Planning and Research Division, Malawi Revenue Authority
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, 2023 Issue 1, p. 303–330
https://doi.org/10.47348/AMTJ/V3/i1a15

Abstract

This study assessed the impact of Malawi’s joining the upcoming COMESA-EACSADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) on Malawi’s tax revenue. The TFTA countries have agreed to liberalise 60 to 85 per cent of tariff lines once the Agreement comes into force, while the remaining 15 to 40 per cent will be negotiated in due course. Three simulations were conducted using the Tariff Reform Impact Simulation Tool: full liberalisation, 85 per cent liberalisation, and 60 per cent liberalisation. The findings reveal that the TFTA will have a negative impact on Malawi’s tax revenue. The findings also indicate which are Malawi’s revenue-sensitive goods under the TFTA, and how the list will change depending on how much the country liberalises its trade. The study also establishes that Malawi’s manufacturing sector will be the most affected sector under the TFTA. In conclusion, it is recommended that since Malawi is joining the TFTA, it should consider improving and reforming tariff revenue collection to protect itself from the expected revenue loss.

Impact of Tax Compliance Enforcement Initiatives in Uganda: case Study of the Value-Added Tax Fraud Campaign

by | May 21, 2023 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2023 I1

Impact of Tax Compliance Enforcement Initiatives in Uganda: case Study of the Value-Added Tax Fraud Campaign

Author: Micah Samuel Gaalya

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: Uganda Revenue Authority
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, 2023 Issue 1, p. 331–347
https://doi.org/10.47348/AMTJ/V3/i1a16

Abstract

By utilising the economic deterrence theory of tax compliance the study establishes the impact of a VAT fraud campaign on taxpayer behaviour in Uganda. The study employed grouped matching difference-in-differences in regressions. We used monthly time-series data for 563 taxpayers for the period 2017–2018. The data was acquired from the Uganda Revenue Administration (URA) database. The results show that there was a small improvement in compliance behaviour over a timeframe of one year after the implementation of the VAT fraud campaign. Return filing increased by 35 per cent, timeous or on-time filing increased by 5 per cent and non-filing decreased by 3 percent. The policy implications are that the URA should put more effort into improving return filing since this should lead to important behavioural change. In addition, the URA should design specific risk treatment strategies targeting late and non-filing. Lastly, future compliance risk mitigation strategies should be focused on specific sectors where lessons learnt can easily be replicated in respect of different taxpayers within a given sector.

A conceptual framework for the legitimate elimination of the developmental mandate by state-owned companies in South Africa

by | May 20, 2023 | JCCL, JCCL V8 I2

A conceptual framework for the legitimate elimination of the developmental mandate by state-owned companies in South Africa

Author: Genevieve Paige Wagener

ISSN: 2521-2575
Affiliations: Attorney of the High Court of South Africa
Source: Journal of Corporate and Commercial Law & Practice, Volume 8 Issue 2, 2022, p. 1 – 28
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCCL/V8/i2a1

Abstract

The Republic of South Africa has adopted developmental ideals as part of the principles governing its public administration, including using state-owned companies (SOCs) as a mechanism for executing the developmental mandate. However, in terms of s 195(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, these principles must be balanced with the principle of promoting ‘[e]fficient, economic and effective use of resources’. South Africa’s state-owned entities currently face numerous challenges affecting their efficiency, effectiveness and viability. This article focuses on SOCs as legal entities and considers structural changes to the legislative framework within which these entities function to address these challenges. The proposed statutory amendments set out in this article aim to utilise the existing tested and functioning framework of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 to align the definitional requirements in the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 that certain state-owned entities pursue purely commercial mandates with the requirement that a ‘state-owned company’ (as defined in the Companies Act) is a profit company which must operate for the financial gain of its shareholders. The article also proposes the introduction of a ‘stateowned enterprise’ into the Companies Act to accommodate the developmental mandate in a legislative structure which fosters more sustainability and accountability than the current legislative regime.

The role of beneficial ownership reporting obligations and the reckless trading provision to prevent front companies in terms of the Companies Act 71 of 2008

by | May 20, 2023 | JCCL, JCCL V8 I2

The role of beneficial ownership reporting obligations and the reckless trading provision to prevent front companies in terms of the Companies Act 71 of 2008

Author: Neha Dhana

ISSN: 2521-2575
Affiliations: LLM candidate, University of Witwatersrand
Source: Journal of Corporate and Commercial Law & Practice, Volume 8 Issue 2, 2022, p. 29 – 54
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCCL/V8/i2a2

Abstract

The corporate form has the potential to be abused by natural persons. A front company is an example of such abuse. A front company is an incorporated company that is used as a vehicle to conduct illegal activities. The natural persons that control this front company and ultimately benefit from proceeds derived from the illicit conduct conceal their identity by hiding behind the company’s separate legal personality to escape civil and criminal liability. A report indicates that billions of rands are obtained through illegal activities perpetrated against the corporate form in South Africa. This means that natural persons can successfully misuse the corporate form as a front. For this reason, it is imperative that a legal framework is in place to circumvent the formation and operation of front companies. Foreign jurisdictions such as the United States of America and Kenya deter front companies by recognising beneficial ownership and placing a reporting obligation on beneficial owners to reveal themselves to a regulatory body. The abuse of the corporate form as a front is a company law issue and ought to be regulated by the South African Companies Act 71 of 2008 (Companies Act). However, the Companies Act does not recognise beneficial ownership per se. The Companies Act recognises beneficial interest only in relation to persons that exercise a legal right held in securities. It is argued that to prevent front companies in South Africa, the Companies Act should be amended to fully recognise beneficial ownership and place a report obligation on these persons to reveal themselves to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. It is further argued that the statutory remedy, the reckless trading provision, should be expanded to apply to beneficial owners to act as an instrument to prevent the operation of front companies.