Staff Writer – According to the World Bank, Zimbabwe’s informal sector pays only 6% of taxes, with just one in five earning taxable income, highlighting a challenge the Government of Zimbabwe is facing of scaling up collection.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) is bringing the ride-hailing and Airbnb operators into the tax net from 2026 and imposing new presumptive taxes on commuter omnibuses, taxis, and driving schools.
ZIMRA’s commissioner for domestic taxes, Misheck Govha, recently announced advanced plans to roll out a dedicated e-commerce tax platform next year.
The system will target fast-growing sectors such as ride-hailing services, including InDrive, Bolt and short-term accommodation providers like Airbnb, as the government pushes to formalize the booming digital economy.
“Every trader in Zimbabwe should make sure that they are compliant and they pay their taxes. The source of those revenues is Zimbabwe. And as such, Zimbabwe has the entitlement to take the right for those incomes,” said Govha, quoted in the State press.
“We have no one we are going to leave behind, as far as registration is concerned, of those who are Airbnbs and InDrives.”
In Zimbabwe, ride-hailing is projected to generate over US $5 million in revenue this year, with more than 2.5 million users expected by 2030.
Zimbabwe’s approach reflects a wider African trend as governments push to formalise the digital economy and maximise tax revenue while tapping into the continent’s rapidly expanding e-commerce markets.
Following findings by ZIMSTAT in the 2025 Economic Census that out of the 204,798 business entities in Zimbabwe, 76,1% are informal, the government has been ramping up its efforts to tax this sector.
This comes as the informal sector, based on the current gross domestic product by market prices for the year, is valued at US $39,8 billion.
According to the previous research by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the informal sector is estimated to transact over US$14 billion annually and have cash worth US $2,5 billion in circulation at any given time.
A decision by ZIMRA to impose new probable taxes on commuter omnibuses, taxis, driving schools, and goods has triggered widespread concern, with critics warning that the measures will worsen poverty and raise the cost of living for already struggling citizens.
Norton legislator Richard Tsvangirai described the taxes as “unfair,” arguing that they will have a direct negative impact on the most vulnerable.