By Wezzie Gausi:
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has said the government needs as much revenue as possible in order to avoid over borrowing for purposes of operations.
Treasury says when the target is being agreed between Treasury and Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), it is in the consideration of all the parameters that come into play.
In an interview, Secretary to the Treasury Betchani Tchereni said it is always their expectation that MRA is going to reach and beat its target.
- Advertisement -
He added that where the country is right now, there is a need for as much revenue as possible in order to fund the many public service activities that are there.
- Advertisement -
“We have a budget that has allocated resources to various sector of the economy, much more in financing the MIP-1. Without MRA meeting its target, it means MIP-1 may not be financed. We need to achieve our vision, embraced in Malawi 2063,” Tchereni said.
In an earlier interview, MRA spokesperson Steven Kapoloma said they are confident of beating the financial year’s target of K3.26 trillion. This is coming at a time the authority has surpassed its July revenue collection target by K15 billion but missed its 2024-25 first quarter target by K91.629 billion.
However, he was quick to indicate that this will require concerted efforts from all people.
“These taxes are also used for development projects such as construction of roads, bridges, clinics, school resources, blocks and markets, among others. Therefore, I cannot overemphasise the impact of tax compliance to the development of the nation.
- Advertisement -
“We encourage those who failed to honour their tax liabilities in the first quarter to come forward and resolve their tax affairs with MRA so that we all positively contribute towards national development by paying our taxes voluntarily,” Kapoloma said.
Meanwhile, economist Marvin Banda has said it should be noted that non-tax revenues continue to underperform, underscoring the difficulties government faces to supplement tax revenues.
