HARARE, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe will reduce tax on electronic transactions conducted in the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency from January next year to lower transaction costs and promote local currency use, a senior official said Thursday.
Presenting the National Budget Statement to parliament in Harare, the country's capital, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said that consistent with the government's commitment to maintain fiscal stability, the intermediated money transfer tax (IMTT) rate on ZiG-denominated transactions will be reduced from 2 percent to 1.5 percent.
IMTT on foreign currency transactions will be maintained at 2 percent, Ncube added.
IMTT is a government levy charged on electronic transactions, including mobile money transfers, bank transfers and point-of-sale payments.
To prevent a revenue shortfall from the lowering of IMTT, Ncube increased the value added tax rate by 0.5 percent.
"As a quid pro quo to the above concession and to partially compensate for the revenue forgone arising from the IMTT rate reduction and deductibility measures, I propose to increase the value added tax rate by 0.5 percent to 15.5 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2026," said Ncube.
Zimbabwe maintains a multi-currency system in which both ZiG and the U.S. dollar serve as legal tender, and the government aims to achieve de-dollarization by 2030.
