FINANCE minister Patrick Chinamasa has challenged MPs to proffer constructive suggestions to help the government increase its revenue inflows, indicating that a paltry 3% of every $100 collected as revenue was going towards service delivery with the bulk of the money consumed by the wage bill.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
“We must come to Parliament to change that structure and we cannot change it if we continue to speak in tongues,” he said yesterday.
“If you do not want to be taxed, please do not shout and expect better service delivery. Our people in the informal sector do not want to be taxed. When a black person takes over a business, they do not want to pay taxes. If we want good health, education and roads, we need to have a culture of paying taxes. Who then is supposed to pay taxes, as I cannot tax foreigners?”
Chinamasa then took a dig at Norton MP Temba Mliswa (Independent) for suggesting that the Finance ministry should be headed by an economist.
Dangamvura-Chikanga MP Esau Mupfumi (Zanu PF) proposed the official adoption of the South African rand, but Chinamasa dismissed it, saying it was impossible as Zimbabwe is not involved in the decision-making regarding the appreciation and depreciation of the rand.
