The ongoing ‘Everyone Must Pay Tax’ campaign saw Malawi Revenue Authority engaging the civil society through a National Workshop in Lilongwe on Friday, February 17, 2017.

In her opening remarks, MRA Deputy Commissioner General Mrs Roza Mbilizi said the workshop was meant to assist CSOs to be tax compliant in order to effectively provide members of the general public with information on voluntary tax compliance.

“The Authority would like to see civil organisations being exemplary by always complying with tax laws. We strongly believe that once you are tax compliant and directly dealing with MRA, it would be very easy for you to streamline taxation issues in your various advocacy and awareness programmes,” the DCG said.

She said Malawians should be encouraged that Government is running its operations using locally generated resources mainly from tax.

“For the 3 years Malawi has not been receiving budgetary support from the international donor community. Despite this, Government has been using taxes to provide essential and critical social services for its citizens and fund activities to develop our country.

“The taxes all of us pay have enabled provision of national security through training of Police officers. Taxes are being used to build roads, construct bridges establish technical colleges, procure subsidised farm inputs and ensure availability of essential drugs for both rural and urban hospitals. Using taxes, Government has also been able to pay salaries for civil servants such as teachers, doctors and nurses, the army and others,” she said.

During the workshop, several members of the civil society urged the Authority to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) on water and milk saying it the two are basic commodities of need to the population.

However, the Deputy Commissioner General clarified that much as MRA does not have the power to enact tax laws, policies and regulations; it was a technical necessity to introduce VAT on the products so that water boards and the organisations involved in milk processing should ably claim the tax and remain profitable.

“In fact, the water boards advocated for this introduction because without the VAT, it was becoming unsustainable for them to the extent that the increasing cost of production would have been directly passed on to consumers. But with the VAT introduction, the expectation is that prices of water and milk should remain the same as water board and milk processors are now claiming input VAT,” Mbilizi said.

On behalf of the civil society, Human Right Consultative Committee (HRCC) Chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba lauded MRA for taking the initiative to be in touch with CSOs.

“It is the goal of any patriotic citizen to see to it that Malawi is developed. Since taxes are central to this goal, CSOs will ensure that they are tax compliant.  We will also ably inform the public to abide by the law in paying taxes while also highlighting the development benefits that we stand to gain as a country,” Mkwezalamba said.    

The meeting was attended by CSOs from across Malawi, among them; Congress of Non-Governmental Organisations (CONGOMA), Centre for Social Concern, MISA Malawi, Story Workshop, Church and Society Programme of the Livingstonia Synod, Consumer Association of Malawi and Civil Liberties Committee.  

Activities for the ‘Everyone Must Pay Tax’ continue this week as MRA engages Small and Media Enterprises (SMEs) in the northern, central and southern regions.