ZAMBIA gave a strong indication that it would not change its mind over proposals to overhaul its tax regime for the mining sector after the country’s finance minister, Margaret Mwanakatwe, told parliament firms would still meet their operational costs.
Even with the proposed taxes “… we are confident that mining companies will be able to meet their operational costs,” said Mwanakatwe in a report by Reuters. “We must register an improved and steady flow of revenue from mining commensurate with the size of extraction,” she added. Reuters said the comments appeared to be a sign that Lusaka would not reverse the proposals to raise taxes in the sector.
Mining firms represented by Zambia’s chamber of Mines have opposed the proposed tax, while the Association of Zambian Mineral Exploration Companies has said the higher taxes would hurt investment in finding new mines.
Foreign mining companies operating in Zambia include NFC Africa, majority owned by China Non-ferrous Metals Company Limited (CNMC), Canada’s First Quantum Minerals , Glencore, Barrick Gold and Vedanta Resources, said Reuters.
Zambia plans to introduce new mining duties, replace Value Added Tax with sales tax and increase royalties to help bring down mounting debt.
