By Staff Reporter

For decades, tax authorities across Southern Africa have grappled with the same paradox: economies dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that generate substantial economic value, yet contribute disproportionately little to national tax revenues.

In Zimbabwe, where informal and small-scale businesses now account for more than 60 percent of gross domestic product, that challenge has moved to the centre of fiscal policy — and with the 2026 National Budget, government is signalling a decisive shift in how it intends to close the gap.

At the heart of this strategy is a clear directive to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA): make tax compliance simpler, fairer and more accessible for SMEs — not as a concession, but as a growth strategy.

Government has directed the ZIMRA to develop tailored, simplified strategies to bring small businesses and start-ups into the tax net in a bid to widen the tax base and meet ambitious revenue targets.

The policy push comes as Treasury sets its sights on US$7.57 billion in revenue for 2026, up from about US$6.2 billion previously, amid tightening fiscal conditions and rising demand for public services.

The medium-term revenue target stands at US$7.2 billion by end-2025, underscoring the urgency of broadening the tax base rather than increasing the burden on existing compliant taxpayers an uphill battle as a significant portion of economic activity remains outside the tax net.

Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, framed SME compliance as both an economic and civic imperative and urged ZIMRA to widen the tax base and include the SME sector which accounts for more than 60% of Gross Domestic Product.

He said every tax payment is an act of patriotism, essential for national development in line with Vision 2030.

“ZIMRA must develop sector-specific strategies to bring start-ups, macro-operators, and small to medium enterprises into voluntary compliance and compliance must be fair, simple and enabling, never a barrier to innovation or enterprise,” Mr Mnangagwa said during the recent ZIMRA Taxpayer Appreciation Awards

“Taxes should create space for businesses to thrive, start-ups to grow and creativity to flourish.”

His remarks echo a growing regional consensus that coercive enforcement alone cannot sustainably integrate informal businesses into the tax system.

Zimbabwe’s SME sector has grown rapidly over the past decade, driven by de-industrialisation, demographic pressure and the expansion of informal trade.

According to the 2022 FinScope SME Survey, the sector contributes an estimated US$8.2 billion to National GDP, making it one of the most significant engines of economic activity.

Yet much of that value remains outside the formal tax net.

With more than 70 percent of the economy operating informally and largely cash-based, collecting value-added tax (VAT), corporate income tax and presumptive levies has proven increasingly difficult.

Weak record-keeping, limited digital access and mistrust of tax authorities have compounded the challenge.

Mr Mnangagwa condemned smuggling activities and tax evasion saying it undermined the country’s development.

Reports indicate that rampant tax evasion and widespread smuggling are crippling Zimbabwe’s revenue collection efforts, costing the nation millions of United States dollars annually and directly threatening the funding of critical public services, officials have warned.

According to official statistics, the government continues to lose vast sums to smuggling, tax fraud, under-invoicing and other illicit financial activities.

Some registered businesses fail to use or tamper with fiscalised electronic registers to underreport sales and avoid paying the correct amount of VAT.

Alongside reform, government has intensified its messaging on the costs of non-compliance. Smuggling, under-invoicing and tax fraud continue to drain public resources, costing the country millions of US dollars annually, according to official estimates.

Mnangagwa was blunt in his assessment, “Compliance is more than law, it is a moral commitment to our communities and future generations.”

“Every act of smuggling, evasion or corruption steals from our children, our communities and our future,” he said.

He linked revenue leakage directly to service delivery gaps, arguing that undeclared goods and falsified returns deprive hospitals of medicines, schools of textbooks and communities of infrastructure.

The challenge is not unique to Zimbabwe. The African Development Bank estimates that illicit financial flows cost the continent over US$80 billion annually, undermining development and investor confidence.

ZIMRA Chairperson, Mr Anthony Mandiwanza, said the authority is recalibrating its approach, balancing revenue mobilisation with practical support for taxpayers, making compliance simpler, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups.

Mr Mandiwanza said ZIMRA is pursuing a dual strategy anchored on aggressively expanding revenue collection while making compliance more accessible.

“In the spirit of leaving no one and no place behind, we are also taking services directly to citizens through mobile units, digital platforms, and kiosks at all regional offices,” he said.

“These initiatives are designed to address structural barriers faced by SMEs, including limited internet access, lack of digital literacy and high compliance costs relative to business size,” he said.

He said the push for “sector-specific strategies” and the expansion of mobile and digital tax services are designed to bring more players into the formal system voluntarily.

ZIMRA’s strategy aligns with international best practice. Across Africa, revenue authorities are increasingly adopting “facilitative compliance” models — simplifying registration, reducing filing frequency for small firms and offering education before penalties.

The Kenya Revenue Authority, for example, has rolled out mobile tax clinics and simplified turnover taxes for micro-enterprises, while South Africa’s SARS operates a graduated compliance framework for small businesses. Zimbabwe’s reforms suggest a similar trajectory.

Treasury’s revenue targets reflect growing confidence in macroeconomic stability, particularly following improved inflation control and currency management under the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) regime.

But analysts warn that targets of this scale cannot be met without tapping into the informal economy.

Economists note that Zimbabwe’s tax-to-GDP ratio, while improving, remains constrained by narrow compliance.

“Broadening the base is more sustainable than raising rates,” said one Harare-based fiscal analyst. “You cannot keep taxing the same formal firms harder while the majority of economic activity sits outside the system.”

Government’s SME support programmes strengthen this argument.

Treasury officials argue that formalisation and tax compliance should increasingly be tied to access to finance, markets and government support — a model used successfully in countries such as Rwanda and Mauritius.

In 2023, the government disbursed US$5,3 billion to support small and medium scale enterprises last year using the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation, the Zimbabwe Women Microfinance Bank, the Zimbabwe Community Development Fund and the Women Development Fund.

Across Southern Africa, fiscal pressures are intensifying. Slower global growth, climate-related shocks and rising debt servicing costs have forced governments to seek more reliable domestic revenue streams.

Zimbabwe’s strategy reflects this regional reality. By focusing on SMEs — the most dynamic yet under-taxed segment of the economy — authorities are attempting to align revenue mobilisation with inclusive growth.

The 2026 Budget reinforces this logic by avoiding aggressive new taxes and instead focusing on compliance efficiency, digitalisation and behavioural change.

The push to ease SME compliance is not about lowering standards, but about widening opportunity. In an economy where small businesses are no longer peripheral but central, fiscal systems must adapt.

As the 2026 Budget takes effect, Zimbabwe’s revenue strategy sends a clear message: growth, compliance and development are not competing goals — they are mutually reinforcing.

The success of ZIMRA’s reforms will ultimately depend on execution. Simplification must be real, not rhetorical. Digital platforms must work reliably. Enforcement must remain firm but fair.

If successful, Zimbabwe could offer a regional case study in how to transition from a narrow, enforcement-heavy tax system to one built on participation and trust.