LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawians keep on being duped by President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse administration following failure to fulfill 2020 campaign promises.
This comes as Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has disclosed that there will not be a Duty Free Week in the 2022/23 financial year, which comes to an end on March 31.
Duty Free Week was one of the key promises made by the Tonse Alliance in the run-up to the June 23, 2020 Fresh Presidential Elections.
MRA Commissioner General John Bizwick told Times on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 that the Duty Free Week was not spelt out by the Minister of Finance during the presentation of the 2022/23 national budget.
MRA Commissioner General John Biziwick: No free duty in 2023/2024 national budget
According to Bizwick, the Duty Free Week implemented in January last year was clearly spelt out in the 2021/22 national budget.
He said if the government wants a Duty Free Week in the next budget, then it has to be clearly stipulated in the budget statement to be presented in the coming weeks.
Chakwera has failed to meet Malawians expectations whose leadership is characterised by high inflation pushing basic needs prices soaring three years in power.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-As one way of enhancing tax compliance and revenue collection, Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Wednesday launched Block Management System (BMS) in the capital Lilongwe.
The BMS is a tax administration reform designed to manage tax affairs of small and medium individuals as well as entities by demarcating the areas in which they conduct business into sizeable and manageable areas called blocks.
MRA Commissioner General John Bizwick during the launch
Speaking during the launch in Lilongwe, MRA Commissioner General John Bizwick said the BMS basically focuses on identification, registration, mapping, monitoring and evaluation of all compliance activities to all taxpayers located within that specific area or block.
He said each block is mandated to operate all the tax functions of registering, assessing, collecting and accounting for revenue collected.
“It gives me great pleasure to finally witness the launch of the much-anticipated Block Management System (BMS) today here is Lilongwe. This is the realization of our dream as a tax administration to implement BMS and provide excellent taxpayer services closer to taxpayers” He
Bizwick said the purpose of the BMS is to identify and facilitate easy registration of new taxpayers and facilitate the close monitoring of taxpayers’ activities and their movements.
He added that Authority has divided the City of Lilongwe into four blocks that include Bwalo La Njobvu, Malangalanga, Area 3, Crossroads, Area 9 and Kanengo and City Centre.
“Each block is allocated staff to carry out those functions, subject to rotation after a certain length of stay in one block. In order to prevent uncomfortable levels of familiarity between MRA officers and some taxpayers, in some cases these rotations will be done more frequently. To measure performance,” He said
However, Bizwick said MRA is currently implementing Msonkho Online, a computer-based system which is automating the manual processes in Domestic Taxes and it allows taxpayers to make tax transactions online including registering for taxes, filing tax returns and even paying their tax liabilities.
Lilongwe City Council Mayor Richard Banda lauded MRA for the great move saying the system will help both MRA and City council in revenue mobilization among businesses in Lilongwe.
Banda said Lilongwe City Council will give full support and make sure that business people are aware about the new system.
The Mayor therefore called for prudent usage of revenues collected not to end up in officers pockets while taxpayers are continue languishing in poverty.
Commenting on the development, Chairperson of the business community Thawel Makako expressed gratitude for the new system and appealed to MRA to do more sensitization on the same.
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