Zimbabwe: Highest marginal tax rate for individuals only reduced to 45%
Zimbabwe: Highest marginal tax rate for individuals
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development in August 2019 presented the 2019 mid-term fiscal policy review statement, and then the Finance Act No. 2 of 2019 was published in the official gazette on 21 August 2019.
In general, the tax-related measures in the mid-term fiscal policy review statement and the draft finance bill were finalized, as introduced, by the Finance Act No. 2. However, there was a change made to the highest marginal ZW tax rate for individual taxpayers. The proposed highest marginal ZW tax rate would have been reduced to 40% in the draft legislation, but that rate was set at 45% in the final version of the legislation.
Among other tax-related measures in Finance Act No 2 of 2019 are the following items:
- Repeal of certain rules so as to allow foreign investors to own more than 51% of businesses in the diamond and platinum sectors
- Revised tax thresholds and rates for the “Pay As You Earn” (PAYE) regime, effective 1 August 2019, and separate U.S. dollar and Zimbabwe currency tables
- Revised tax-free band increased to ZW $700 per month (up from ZW $350)
- Revised tax thresholds (revised upward by a factor of eight (8))
- Introduction of 2% royalties for small-scale gold miners and a “floating rate” ranging between 3% and 5% for large-scale miners; mining royalties to be deductible beginning 1 January 2020
- Increased excise tax (duty) on fuel, tobacco, and alcohol products
- Established rate of capital gains tax on immovable property acquired before 22 February 2019 at 5% of the gross selling price or assessed value
There were no changes made to the value added tax (VAT) registration threshold; to the annual tax-free bonus threshold for employees; or to “rebase” capital allowances in respect of capital investment made in U.S. dollars prior to the introduction of the ZW dollar (which is expected to result in significant increases to the effective tax rates of businesses above the 25.75% corporate income tax rate).
Read a September 2019 report [PDF 7 MB] prepared by the KPMG member firm in Zimbabwe
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