Finance minister Biti proposes diasporans tax

Tendai Biti

Finance Minister Tendai Biti said in a report that Zimbabweans living abroad in South Africa and the United Kingdom could help the country fund operations

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti says expatriate nationals should be prepared to pay an annual tax to retaining their Zimbabwean citizenship and in return for privileges including the right to cast absentee ballots.

The proposal is included in a national reconstruction report unveiled by Biti at a seminar at Manchester University, England, recently.It said the 3 million Zimbabweans living outside the country in South Africa and the United Kingdom in particular could help the country raise scarce capital. It added that expatriates should feel the government values them, so it proposes "confidence-building" steps including dual citizenship and absentee ballots.

"Clearly this would be controversial but it could be a way for migrants to contribute directly to the state budget," the report states.

The report also addressed the longstanding problem of brain-drain, noting that many in the diaspora are professionals whose skills are needed at home.
"The inclusive government will need to find ways to lure them back (even for short periods) to share their skills and knowledge," said Biti's report.

"It is probably in these non-pecuniary remittances that Zimbabwe could gain the most," it continued. "The health and education sectors should be targeted most as these were the areas hardest hit by the brain drain."

VOA was unable to reach Biti for his own explanation of the tax proposal.But economist Luxon Zembe says such a tax would be unfair.

Zimbabwean emigré Tendai Mutyambizi said in an interview from Leicester, England, that it is early days for Harare to propose a diaspora tax.