[miningmx.com] – EDGAR Lungu, Zambia president, has asked his government to change a new tax system that companies and analysts said would lead to mine closures in the country, said Bloomberg News.
Lungu asked the country’s mines minister Christopher Yaluma and finance minister Alexander Chikwanda to consider a range of options from negotiating an interim tax deal with some miners, deferring the new system, reverting to the old one or modifying the existing law, said the newswire.
“Dialog between my government and the mines shall continue,’ said Lungu, who was elected in January. The ministers must make recommendations to cabinet by the April deadline, Lungu said. He didn’t say when any changes would come into effect.
Under a tax law that was passed in January, royalties more than tripled to 20% for some mines which would cause 12,000 job losses and shutdowns, according to Zambia’s Chamber of Mines.
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