THE 2015 national budget presented by Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamasa failed to address issues surrounding financial sector stability. The fragility of the banking sector had affected domestic savings over the years, and hence it was important for Chinamasa to come up with new measures to stimulate savings…
TAX experts in Bulawayo have welcomed Finance and Economic Development Minister, Patrick Chinamasa’s new tax measures which they said were business and people-friendly. Among other things, Chinamasa increased the income tax-free threshold from US$250 to US$300, while leaving the bonus tax-free threshold at the current US$1 000. “For…
THE dumping of the local currency in 2009 in favour of the multicurrency regime was bittersweet in that it halted hyperinflation but at the same time created a liquidity crunch in the economy. It is worth noting that our dollarisation was endogenous as economic agents rejected the local…
ZIMBABWE’s Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa (pictured) is expected to lead a high-level delegation of Zimbabwean business executives and government officials to London, the financial capital of the world, as government intensifies efforts to court global investors. The foray into London, a surprise turn for a government that has…
ZIMBABWE’S banking sector has been hit with massive withdrawals by risk-loathing depositors over the past five months, with banking sector sources indicating that reports of a return of the domestic currency have further unsettled bank customers. The Zimbabwe dollar was banished from circulation in 2009 to stem a hyperinflationary crisis…
The Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamasa last week ridiculed ordinary Zimbabweans for importing second hand Japanese vehicles, which he described as “junk”. Chinamasa said these “junk” imports were draining the country of much-sought-after foreign currency and consequently leaving the country in a liquidity crunch. Nothing can be more…
EDITORIAL Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa last week unveiled a US$100 million facility to resuscitate the interbank market, which went away with dollarisation of Zimbabwe’s economy in 2009 when the country ditched its own worthless currency. The facility was made possible by assistance from Afreximbank, which had been engaged…
ALL of a sudden the plush jobs are not so plum anymore. The pickings no longer as rich. From a mountain top of US$15 000 all the way up to US$40 000 and an incredible US$500 000 a month to tumble down in free fall all the way…
STATE enterprises, parastatals and local authorities were paying out an untaxed total amount of US$85 million since dollarisation to their top executives numbering 181, a move which was largely designed for tax evasion purposes. Computations by tax experts show that heads of Zimbabwe’s 90 mostly insolvent parastatals and 91 bankrupt…
(Comment 2) LAST week, we carried an article in which we reported that Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa had turned down a request by the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) to introduce an indigenisation tax to facilitate empowerment transactions. We fully support the Minister. Indigenisation or empowerment of…