Delta Beverages spells out its 2025 Mid-Term Budget expectations

Delta, Zimbabwe’s top beverages maker, has laid out its expectations for the country’s 2025 Mid-Term Budget, expected next week.

Key takeaways:

?On taxes
· Make things easier for SMEs by raising the VAT registration threshold to over US$60,000 from US$24,000.

The 5% tax on traders who don’t tax clearance is raising prices and hitting compliant businesses hardest.

Delta has just lost a US$74M tax war with Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, after the court ruled that it should pay taxes in the currency of trade.

Delta says guidelines are unclear, and any legal tender should be accepted for tax

?About that sugar tax
The sugar tax on drinks – at US$0,001 per added gram of sugar – has pushed up prices of soft drinks by 15–45%.

Demand for cordials – such as Mazoe – has fallen, and cheap imports are flooding in.

Delta wants the tax cut to 0.0005 USD/g, and that only drinks with a lot of sugar content – over 4g of sugar per 100ml – must be taxed.

? 2% tax on transactions
Delta says it’s been paying an average of US$7.5 million in the IMTT over the past 3 years. This tax pushes companies to use cash. Delta wants it scrapped or made tax-deductible.

NewZwire