Responsiveness of the Zambian mine tax regimes to attributes of ‘good tax’ criteria

2018 IJRSM – Volume 7 Issue 2

Author/s:

Chisakulo, Edward*
School of Mines & Mineral Sciences, Copperbelt University, Zambia (eddie.chisakulo@yahoo.com)

Kambani, Stephen
Mining Engineering Department, University of Zambia, Zambia (skambani@unza.zm)

Abstract:

Formulation of the fiscal regime for the extractive industry requires meeting the competing needs for both investors and government. Such desires are tackled when government policymakers put in place fiscal regimes that respond to the attributes of the ‘good tax’ criteria dealing with, among others; stability, equity, progressiveness, transparency and clarity, risk sharing, economic efficiency, neutrality and non-regressiveness. The objective of this study was to assess the responsiveness of the Zambian mine fiscal regimes to the attributes of ‘good tax’ criteria. The study design was descriptive with data collection employing both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews meant to gather respondents’ opinions using Likert items addressing the attributes of ‘good tax’ criteria. Non-probability purposive sampling was conducted with 82 questionnaire respondents and 13 interviewees from the mining industry. Questionnaire survey findings indicated that 63% of the respondents disagreed to the Zambian mine tax systems being responsive to the attributes of ‘good tax’ criteria. Responses from interviewees supported this outcome and signified that the taxation regimes fail to embrace the economic perspective dealing with stability, neutrality, transparency, risk sharing and progressivity. Interviewees felt that weak institutional capacities, policy inconsistencies, information asymmetry, and lack of stabilisation agreements in the fiscal regimes affected the responsiveness of the Zambian mine taxation systems to attributes of ‘good tax’ criteria.

Keywords: fiscal regime; stabilisation agreement; information asymmetry; institutional capacities; progressivity; policy inconsistency; Zambia

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsm.2018.3002

*Corresponding Author