The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has reportedly lost tax records dating back to six years ago after its digital repository and server crashed.
NewsHub reported sources as saying ZIMRA’s server might have been hacked or the designer did a shoddy job.
ZIMRA is now reportedly requesting its clients to resubmit online their Pay as You Earn (Paye) P2 forms, Valued Added Tax (Vat), and Income Tax (ITC) records stretching to 2017.
ZIMRA described the returns as “outstanding”, even though numerous clients told the NewsHub that they were up to date with their submissions.
Prosper Chitambara, an economist, allayed fears of financial losses at ZIMRA due to the systems crash. He said:
It is highly likely that most companies or organisations are up to date, hence it will not prejudice the state that much.
However, there are fears that current tax evaders might take advantage of the records loss, resulting in heavy leakages in potential revenue.
The Government is heavily dependent on taxation to fund the fiscus, with the 2022 mid-term fiscal review indicated that taxes—among them Vat, customs duty, Paye, corporate tax, excise duty—contributed 97.6 percent to government revenue.
In its revenue performance report for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2022, ZIMRA reported that it collected a total net of ZWL$2 trillion against the targeted ZWL$1.6 trillion.
More: Pindula News