The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has announced that not a single property within the city meets the threshold for the recently implemented wealth tax, at least according to its records.
The council confirms that none of the properties in the city were valued at more than US$250,000, the minimum required levy introduced by the Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, in the 2024 national budget.
The introduction of the tax was followed by the issuance of Finance Law No. 13 of 2023, which directs Section 360 to impose the tax at the rate of one percent of the value of a residence other than the taxpayer’s principal private residence, if such value exceeds US$250,000. The maximum tax liability on any taxable dwelling was set at US$50,000 per year, with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) collecting with the assistance of local authorities.
Under Section 36(0) of the Income Tax Act, local authorities were appointed collection agents for Zimra until such time as Zimra was able to collect the tax. Furthermore, in terms of Section 22(0) of the Finance Act, the Board is expected to remit the full amount to Zimra unless any commission amounts are agreed.
However, the BCC revealed that no properties in the entire city fall below the required limit.
According to the council’s latest report in relation to the recent valuation by the local authority, the highest value unit was set at $115,000. The council did not reveal the location of its most expensive properties, even though they are traditionally the most valuable properties in the city. Found in Burnside. Property valuation involves analyzing various factors such as location, size, age, condition and other relevant features that affect the value of the property. The appraisal gives an estimate of the property’s market value, according to Guestandtanner.co.zw.
“Under Section 247 of the Urban Councils Act, Chapter 29:15, the Council only assessed non-residential properties and assessed residential properties. In these circumstances, and in accordance with this provision, the Council established classification areas and determined the size of classification units. All properties were then assigned the same value located within the same area for rating purposes. In relation to the last assessment, the unit with the highest value was pegged at $115,000, meaning we did not have values of $250,000 to which the wealth tax would apply. “The council is currently conducting a new assessment, but it has not been Values are expected to double or more than double,” the council’s latest report stated.
Regarding occupancy, as the Wealth Tax Law stipulates that only non-owner-resident properties valued at US$250,000 are subject to tax, the local authority noted that it does not have a database on property occupancy, stating that there is nothing obliging the owner to register his tenants. At the council.
“If such properties are located within Bulawayo City jurisdiction, Council will have to reconfigure and adjust its billing system to accommodate this – and this will come at a cost. The Council noted that collection came at a cost, and the inflated debtors figure was shared with Zimra, so if necessary If this tax is collected by any means of debt recovery including legal action, there will be associated costs,” reads part of the report. Sunday news
