Zim TaxPayers PLATFORM
Advocating for value for money from every tax dollar
Our Vision
A prosperous, low-tax Zimbabwe with efficient, transparent and accountable government
Our Mission
Lower Taxes, Less Waste, More Accountability & SME/Private Sector Space
My Tax-My Voice Campaign
This initiative builds civic agency for taxpayers to engage the Government and advocate for lower taxes and efficient use of tax revenue by the Government. The initiative focuses on four things, a) build the taxpayers platform in Zimbabwe and plant and mobilize Zimbabweans to demand justice and value for their money, b) campaign for lower taxes as the Government has a tendency introduce new or increase taxes, c) advocate for limited and accountable government as the Government often lavishly spends on valueless consumptive spending like motor vehicles for Government chefs whilst public service suffer, and d) promote taxpayer rights as the Zimbabwean Constitution promotes citizen agency.
The ZiTAP agenda
We work to expose excessive and wasteful government spending. We want more transparency and accountability in how taxpayers’ money is spent and our politicians spending money as if they’d worked as hard as the taxpayers who earned it. We believe that new taxes should only be introduced when there are equal decreases in other taxes.
We advocate and promote democratic accountability. Those who are responsible for public services, levy taxes, or spend/allocate public money, should ultimately be accountable. We work with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Constitution to ensure accountability without the usual political protections
We deploy Section 264 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which ensures local tax-payers use their agency to ask local authorities to account, consult and allocate public money for public good.
ZITAP works to ensure central and local government reduce taxes & levies and ensure efficient deployment of taxpayers monies by reducing waste, unnecessary expenditures, zero corruption and constitutionally mandated procurement processes. This gives people and companies the liberty to decide what to do with their own resources!
Our Broad Idea
KEY FOCUS AREAS
TAXATION AND SERVICE DELIVERY
Educating taxpayers on the linkages between tax and service delivery. Compiling a detailed assessment on how taxation impacts access to service delivery issues, e.g. health, infrastructure, education. This will enlighten taxpayers on the importance of paying taxes for services, and in turn demanding transparency and accountability on service delivery, and taking part in budget consultation processes.
TAX EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Making use of social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Twitter to disseminate information on tax, hence engaging a larger audience of taxpayers. This will be an easier means for taxpayers to get information. Through the use of technology, some of the content will be translated to local languages that are easy to understand.
SUCCESS STORIES
Sharing success stories of individuals or communities who have used knowledge on taxation to successfully advocate for change in policies, that improve their living conditions.
TAXATION AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
Engaging with Small to medium Enterprises (SMEs), through tax education seminars. This will help SMEs understand the taxation system better and in turn encourage them to formally register their businesses, in order to get more customers and opportunities. SMEs also have a role to play in monitoring and tracking tax expenditure by the Government.
GOVRENMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERSHIPS
Partnering with the Government and relevant Civil society organizations, to integrate tax education programs. The programs will also align with local government initiatives/events, in order to gain more traction.
