Zambia will open public consultations on a five-year revenue reform plan this Thursday, bringing government, business and civil society into negotiations over tax predictability, compliance and how the country finances development.
By The Zambian Economist Analyst
Key Takeaways
- Government will launch consultations on the 2027–2031 Medium-Term Revenue Strategy on Thursday, 3 September, at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka.
- The MTRS is meant to replace fragmented annual revenue measures with a more predictable five-year framework for tax policy and administration.
- No new tax measure has been announced at this stage. The consultation will test proposals on compliance, digital systems, investment, equity and taxpayer service.
- Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa will launch the process, with senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Budget Office and Zambia Revenue Authority leading technical discussions.
Zambia will launch public consultations on its 2027–2031 Medium-Term Revenue Strategy on Thursday, 3 September 2026, as the Government seeks a more predictable way to raise domestic revenue without relying excessively on new debt or unstable income sources.
The meeting at Mulungushi International Conference Centre will bring together officials, businesses, civil-society organisations and representatives from agriculture, mining and tourism. Its theme is “Mobilising Domestic Resources for Sustainable Growth and National Development.”
What is the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy?
The MTRS is intended to coordinate tax-policy and revenue-administration reforms over five years. Instead of treating each annual Budget as a separate round of tax changes, the framework is meant to show how Government plans to broaden the tax base, improve compliance and make revenue more predictable between 2027 and 2031.
The policy is not entirely new. In the 2026 Budget Address, Government committed to formulate an MTRS to address gaps in the tax system, broaden the base and strengthen compliance. Thursday’s launch moves that commitment into a formal consultation process.
The immediate distinction matters: a consultation is not a tax increase. No rate change, new levy or removal of an exemption has been announced through the launch notice. Those questions will depend on the proposals that enter the strategy and the decisions Government takes after stakeholders respond.
Why Zambia wants stronger domestic revenue
The Treasury’s central argument is that long-term development cannot rest heavily on borrowing. More reliable domestic revenue could give Government greater room to fund public services, infrastructure, social protection, energy, agriculture, livestock development and climate resilience.
That ambition already sits at the centre of the national Budget. Domestic revenue finances 81.6% of the 2026 Budget, while Government has been trying to reduce deficits and contain new borrowing. A medium-term strategy is supposed to make that revenue path clearer to taxpayers and investors.
The Ministry also says collection must be matched by expenditure efficiency, accountability and value for money. That is an important test. A stronger revenue system can create fiscal space, but public support will depend on whether citizens can see a credible link between what is collected and what is delivered.
What could the strategy mean for businesses?
For the private sector, predictability may matter as much as the headline tax burden. Companies make investment decisions over several years, while abrupt annual changes to rates, exemptions, filing rules or enforcement can raise costs even when the amount of tax due does not change sharply.
Business representatives are expected to raise tax-policy stability, compliance costs, investment incentives, digital systems and the quality of taxpayer service. The consultation should clarify whether Government intends to rely mainly on broader participation, stronger enforcement, fewer exemptions, new tax handles or a combination of these approaches.
A credible strategy should distinguish deliberate evasion from the practical difficulties faced by small and medium enterprises. Simplifying registration, filing and payment can widen compliance without turning every informal business into an enforcement target before it has the systems or cash flow to cope.
ZRA plans greater use of data and digital systems
The Zambia Revenue Authority is expected to outline measures for narrowing compliance gaps through data, digitalisation, risk-based enforcement and improved taxpayer services. The objective, according to the launch statement, is to make compliance simpler for legitimate taxpayers while strengthening action against evasion and revenue leakage.
Digitalisation can reduce manual processing and identify mismatches more quickly, but its design will matter. Businesses will want to know how systems connect, what records are required, how disputes are handled and what happens when platforms fail. The rollout of Smart Invoice has already shown that one company’s compliance can affect the cash flow of customers claiming input VAT.
What should households watch?
Households should watch how the strategy treats fairness. A revenue plan can raise more money through direct taxes on income and profits, indirect taxes on consumption, fees, property-related charges or tighter collection of existing obligations. Those choices do not affect every household equally.
Civil-society organisations are expected to focus on equity, transparency, accountability and protection of vulnerable households. Their task will be to test whether proposals shift the burden towards people with greater capacity to pay or raise the cost of basic consumption for everyone.
Six questions the consultations should answer
- What is the revenue target? The strategy should state how much additional revenue it seeks, by year and as a share of GDP.
- Where will the money come from? Tax-base expansion, better administration, exemption reform and any new measures should be separated clearly.
- Who bears the burden? Government should publish distributional analysis for households, workers, SMEs and large companies.
- What will compliance cost? New digital and reporting requirements should be assessed against the time and technology taxpayers need.
- How will disputes be resolved? Faster collection must be matched by accessible objections, appeals and refund processes.
- How will spending performance be measured? Stronger collection should come with public reporting on service delivery, procurement and value for money.
Who will lead Thursday’s launch?
Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa will deliver the keynote address and formally launch the consultations. Permanent Secretary for Budget and Economic Affairs Mwaka Mukubesa, ZRA Commissioner General Dingani Banda and Budget Office Director Willies Chipango are expected to lead policy and technical discussions.
The meeting will examine why Zambia needs stronger domestic revenue, what predictable resources could finance, and how administration and compliance can turn revenue potential into sustained fiscal performance.
What happens after the launch?
Thursday’s meeting begins the consultation process rather than completing it. Government says it wants stakeholders to identify priority reforms and help shape an implementation framework involving the Ministry of Finance, ZRA, business and civil society.
The quality of the final strategy will depend on what Government publishes after those discussions: quantified targets, reform timetables, distributional analysis, administrative costs and a clear account of how additional revenue will improve public services.
For taxpayers, the central bargain is straightforward. A broader and more reliable revenue base can reduce pressure for borrowing and support development, but it must also produce a system that is easier to comply with, fair in who pays and accountable in how money is spent.
Follow-up, 3 September: the consultations opened at Mulungushi on Thursday. Kelvin Chisanga sets out the tests the final strategy must meet: measurable targets, an incentives review, a balanced mining regime and protection for the formal sector. Read: Tax the Economy Better, Not More: The Test for Zambia’s 2027–2031 Revenue Strategy. We also break down what the strategy’s four pillars actually contain, and the size of the fiscal gap they are meant to close.
Sources: Ministry of Finance and National Planning consultation notice; National Assembly of Zambia, 2026 Budget Address; 2026 Budget Speech; IMF 2026 Zambia staff report.
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