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{
    "id": 464050,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/464050/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 297,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Coming back to the Bill, this is a Bill that intends to create a win-win situation. It intends to create fairness and justice both for the Government as a revenue collector and for businessmen, investors and taxpayers. It provides that where a dispute arises, we will manage it within a certain legal framework. If you look at the history of our country, we have backlog of cases of VAT and the Income Tax between the institutions mandated to collect these taxes and the taxpayers. We have created this law, and I am sure it is the first law that has come; the Tax Appeals Tribunal Bill, to make sure that what is due to Ceasar is given, but in a fair and just manner. In the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, citizens have a right and a moral obligation to pay taxes to the Government for the Government to provide services. So, it is a two-way traffic. The citizens have a constitutional obligation to receive services from the Government that they have elected, but the same citizens must also make sure they pay taxes. This process must be undertaken in a fair and just way. Where a dispute arises, then this law provides recourse. The Government will collect its rightful share of revenue within the parameters of the law and the citizens will not abscond paying taxes that they are supposed to pay. That is the essence and the foundation of this Bill. In a nutshell, the Chair has, through his report and notes, given most of the salient features of this Bill. In a nutshell, this Bill talks about the Tax Appeals Tribunal and gives the functions and the membership of the tribunal. It talks about where they will come from, how they will be appointed, their tenure, how the chairman will be appointed and how they will get funds, because it is going to be an institution. It talks about the responsibilities of the Chair and members, and how far they can go within the law. Further, this Bill gives the procedure for appeals. Again, it is not cast in stone. For you to appeal, you must follow a particular process. This Bill gives you the roadmap for what you will do within the timelines and what the law says. It stipulates the requirements for you even to notify the Commissioner of either the Income Tax or the VAT of your appeal. It even talks about conflict of interest in relation to the functions of the Tribunal. In Clause 20, it gives the Tribunal powers. We do not want to give either the Commissioner or the taxpayer just a blanket law. Clause 20 gives the powers and whether evidence is going to be under oath. It states how you will proceed in the absense of one party, and how to adjourn the hearing of any proceedings. So, the powers of the Tribunal are well stipulated in this Bill. It also states when you should give evidence and when you are not allowed to give evidence. It shows the voting rights within the panel. More importantly, this Bill provides that in the event you disagree even with the Tribunal, then you have redress. You can still move to the High Court. So, it is not law of the last resort. The Bill further contains provisions on offences, evidence and at what stage you can say a claim is false. It states at what stage you can say that the document you are presenting to the appeal is fake or false, how updated your accounts are, whether your accounts are audited by reputable audit firm and how your registry is. The last bit, as the Chair said, is on the existing tax laws. These are some of the very important financial related laws that are exercised by the Executive through the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}