The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has launched a blitz cracking on the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to register and pay taxes with an emphasis on income tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), and Pay As You Earn (PAYE). This operation started on July 1, 2025 – and has sent a panic wave in the MSME sector.
We recommend ZIMRA to pursue a different strategy. Public information is very thin and sketchy. We encourage ZIMRA to conduct public education with incentives for MSMEs to register and pay taxes. The MSME sector must be treated with caution and tact as it is the mainstream of Zimbabwe’s economy. Small-scale gold producers contribute more than 65% of the annual production. The same goes for maize production. Small traders push more Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) more than big retailers in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce reports that 74% of business transactions in the 2024 fiscal year took place in the informal sector by purchasing power parity measurement.
A tendency to use punishments like “garnishing” and “backdating charges” might display the power of the tax agency, but ultimately push the MSME sector to go back to informality.
Our policy plea as the Zimbabwe Taxpayers Platform (ZITAP) is for ZIMRA and other government agencies such as the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency and National Competitiveness Commission to join hands in working to create a standard and measurable program to formalize the informal sector. This tax-based approach alone does not solve the whole equation as other crucial growth necessities like credit financing, market linkages/intelligence and export support among others do not automatically come with tax registration.