The Malawi Revenue Authority says it has registered over five thousand new taxpayers into its tax band since the introduction of the Block Management System (BMS).
BMS is a taxpayer outreach scheme that physically identifies and maps taxpayers and breaks them into manageable blocks to allow MRA to visit them in person to educate and encourage tax compliance.
Speaking on the sidelines of a media training on tax matters in Blantyre, Steve Kapoloma-Head of Corporate Affairs for MRA-said there has been a big improvement since implementing the system in 2021 as the authority has so far registered 5,455 new businesses, with a K44 billion increase in revenue collection.
According to Kapoloma, more businesses are now contributing to the economy through payment of presumptive taxes and other taxes.
“We believe that we have a bigger responsibility to bring in more people because the numbers that are out there operating in the informal sector without registering with the authority are actually in thousands.
We are hoping to get to a million in two-three years’ time, but we have to start from somewhere and so far we are seeing the benefits of the Block Management System,” said Kapoloma
MRA also disclosed plans to expand operations of the BMS which is currently being implemented in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, into the districts and municipalities, starting with Zomba.
He has since underscored the importance of media engagement in achieving increased public awareness on tax matters in order to promote tax compliance.
Meanwhile one of the participants Grace Phiri, a Business Reporter with Nation Publications described the training as an eye opener for journalists, especially on reforms MRA is undertaking to improve revenue collection.
“The knowledge I have gained from this media training will help me write well informed and articulated stories on tax issues.
Among others, I have learned about strides MRA is making to improve revenue collection and the measures the public tax collector is undertaking to improve compliance and domestic revenue collection, checking smuggling, and using technology to improve way of doing business,” said Phiri
A 2019 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Survey by FinScope revealed that there were over 1.6 million MSMEs in Malawi, however only 27,000 were registered. This means that the country is losing billions of Kwachas through unpaid tax revenues