High court outlaws 2% tax on electronic transactions.

The high court of Zimbabwe has made a landmark ruling in which they nullfied SI 205/2018. The much abhored piece of legislation imposed 2% tax in all electronic transactions much to the disgruntlement of many stake holders. The high ourt has since passed a ruling that the statutory instrument is in fact not legal.

The 2% tax imposition had caused so much outrage with many people crying foul over loss of their earnings to tax. The finance minister Professor Mthuli Ncube had justified the imposition citing that it was necessary for government to get extra money through such tax to ay off its ever growing debt. Indeed at the last monetary policy announcement, the minister had indicated that there were surplus funds due to the money collected from the electronic transfers. In a country where there is an acute shortage of cash, most people transact through electronic means. The government was clearly raking in a lot of money from the tax imposition.

Most people have expressed relief at the recent pronouncement by the high court. The ruling was a welcome development and most people said the nullification of the statutory instrument will see most people getting value for their hard earned cash