The Zambia Chamber of Mines has said that stakeholders in the mining sector should not mistake the much-needed competitive mining tax regime for tax exemptions.
Chamber Chief Executive Officer Sokwani said that Zambia remains one of the only two country’s with the highest effective tax rate in this part of the world, that needs to be reviewed.
Mr Chilembo said that what was given to the mining sector in the 2022 budget are not exemptions but adjustments that are necessary to make the country’s sector more competitive with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, currently the highest tax locations in copper mining in this part of the globe.
While there are calls for increased taxation in the mining sector in 2023 as opposed to relaxed measures in the current 2022 national budget, the Chamber of Mines highlights that third-party studies in 2021 put Zambia’s taxation on the old Copperbelt at 77 per cent and 57 percent for the new Copperbelt in the north west while the rest of the world is averaging out for high cost mines in the region of mid-forties and open cast lower cost mines in the mid-thirties.
Mr. Chilembo said that while things improved within the 2022 budget, there is need for the 2023 fiscal year to be more enabling with eyes set on the 2023 budget presentation that is scheduled for this Friday.
Mr. Chilembo added that that Zambia’s mining industry players have set their efforts into refocusing targets to deliver as much as possible after the country’s half year copper production figures fell by a total of 7.17 percent due to operational challenges such as heavy rains in North Western Province and floods in Kwazulu Natal of South Africa that impacted the supply chain negatively.
