Category: News Feeds

She said accountants in Zimbabwe were reluctant to use technology because they were afraid technology would take over their role.

However, what technology would achieve is to take away some of the more mundane work of the accountant, leaving the accountant with more time to analyse and add value to financial statements.

“We are in a new industrial age. It’s now the fourth industrial revolution. The horse and cart were replaced by the car but this did not result in a loss of jobs,” she said.

She referred to figures given earlier by Pan African Federation of Accountants chief executive Alta Prinsloo who said that even before the Covid-19 pandemic it had been predicted that about 75 million jobs would be lost but that about 133 million more jobs would be created.

She said technology would merely result in a transformation in what accountants did, not in their being made redundant. When technology was adopted someone had to apply it.

With the adoption of technology, accountants and auditors would be able to add a lot more value to their business. Technology still had to be audited. They would end up with significant jobs

“In other countries audits are no longer linked just to numbers,” she said.

She said lockdown restrictions necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic had made it necessary to adopt technology for business to continue.

“Covid has brought us into that place where we have to have technology communication,” she said, adding that in Zimbabwe people previously had to go to the office because that was where the server was. It was now necessary to put data in the cloud.

Access to technology was now considered a human right, she said. In Zimbabwe data was too expensive not only for individuals but many businesses.

Transformational speaker Bishop Vukani Dhladhla emphasised the importance of balancing work with other aspects of life, particularly family life.

He said some of his most difficult counselling sessions had been with parents and children. Often the parents tried to do the best for their children by working hard and buying them cellphones and other gadgets when what the children wanted was their parents presence at home.

He said everyone should look at four areas of life, namely work, family, friends and self. It was important to ensure one was physically and mentally well, which meant there was need to eat healthily and not overwork.

Achieving a balance between work and other aspects of life could make a person more productive.

“Long hours at work do not mean they are productive,” he pointed out. “A work-life balance can make you use time more efficiently. You become a well-rounded person,” he said.

Post published in: Featured

This years’ commemorations are running under the global theme, “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”.

Zimbabwe has witnessed a spike in cases of domestic violence with several cases of physical and emotional abuse of women being recorded during the lockdown period at household level.

According to a research conducted by Zimbabwean civic society organisations this year, reports of physical violence went up by 38.5 percent from April to May while reports of emotional violence went up by 80 percent during the same period.

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown has continued to worsen the plight of women and girls who have also not been spared from the brutality by the police and the army who have apparently taken advantage of the Covid-19 regulations to silence dissent.

We take with great concern that the State apparatus in Zimbabwe continues to be among the biggest violators of women’s rights with the most recent case being that of the opposition MDC Alliance trio of Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri who were abducted, tortured and sexually assaulted by state agents for staging a demonstration against economic hardships in May 2020.

On another note, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition implores the government of Zimbabwe to move with speed in implementing the Februray 2020 recommendations by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to the effect that Zimbabwe must imporove on implementation of laws to protect women from violence.

The Committee also called for full implementation of laws contained in the country’s constitution adopted in 2013 on the protection of women.

It is also imperative for the Zimbabwean government to ensure full domestication of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimanation Against Women as well as to periodically review legal systems and build institutions that protect womens’ rights.

Commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence is an opportunity for the government to reassert its commitment to the protection and upliftment of women and girls.

Gender equality is a cornerstone of economic and sustainable development hence women and girls should be placed at the centre of development efforts.

Post published in: Featured

If you are a low-income earner

There is not much tax relief for you. The tax-free threshold has only been raised slightly from ZWL$5 000 per month to ZWL$10 000 per month. Tax bands will begin at ZWL$10 001 and end at ZWL$250 000 per month. This does little for the poorest workers. For perspective; in October, a Zimbabwean family of five needed $18,750 just to stay above the poverty line.

If you earn more than ZWL$250,000, you pay the highest marginal tax rate of 40%.

If you are expecting a bonus, the bonus tax-free threshold has gone up from ZWL$5 000 to ZWL$25 000, with effect from 1 November 2020.

If you were tired of the 2% tax, sorry

The 2% tax on mobile money and other electronic transfers stays. The tax has been unpopular since it came in 2018, but Mthuli says it has “generated substantial resources that have enabled Government to support various infrastructure projects”, including the COVID-19 response.

So, the Minister isn’t giving much of this cash-cow away. You will no longer pay the 2% for transactions of up to ZWL$500, which is just a small increase from the current ZWL$300. For forex transactions, this tax will apply above US$5. The maximum of this tax that your business can pay has been raised from ZWL$25 000 to ZWL$800 000 on transactions with values exceeding ZWL$40 million, with effect from 1 January 2021.

If you were planning to import a car

Government will now control the importation of cars that are 10 years or older. Owning a car has just slid further from the reach of the majority, who cannot afford new vehicles. According to Mthuli, Zimbabwe has spent around US$1.3 billion importing buses and used cars over the past five years. Cars older than 10 years are now off the Open General Import Licence. This means that, from 2021, you will need a special import licence for older cars.

This doesn’t apply to commercial vehicles, such as trucks, tractors and earthmoving equipment used in mining or construction.

If you are a self-employed professional

It’s going to be a tough year for you, if you don’t have tax clearance. As government chases more tax dollars, you must budget for really high taxes. If you are a doctor, engineer or lawyer, you will have to pay ZWL$500,000 in presumptive tax per month. Architects pay ZWL$250,000. Realtors will have to work overtime – the tax is ZWL$1 million per month.

If you run a small flea market or downtown shop

Government is shaking down everyone. This includes those of you running small stalls at places such as the Gulf Complex in Harare. You will now be charged tax of the equivalent of US$30 per month for your unit. If you run a hair salon, you now pay ZWL$2 500 per month. A restaurant or your favourite bottle store is now required to pay ZWL$10 000 per month in taxes.

If you’re a landlord of a complex housing flea markets, stalls

Apart from chasing after rent, landlords now have an extra job; making sure tenants pay the presumptive tax. If you are a landlord and your tenants don’t pay this tax, you will pay a penalty equivalent to the amount of tax payable – plus interest.

To make it easier for ZIMRA tax inspectors, landlords of these commercial sites will need to keep a record of their tenants.

A new, special unit will be formed at ZIMRA to target the informal market.

If you’re a drinker or smoker

Your habit just got more expensive, a lot more. Excise duty on tobacco and alcohol is going up. Currently, excise duty on cigarettes is ZWL$100 per 1 000 cigarettes plus 20% of the ex-factory price. It is now going up to the equivalent of US$5 per 1 000 cigarettes plus 20% of the ex-factory price.

In other terms, excise duty on tobacco is up by 300%, 700% for spirits and 600% for beer.

BAT, the country’s biggest cigarette maker, has recently reported a drop in volumes. The new ‘sin tax’ will hit sales even harder.

Spirits, such as your Glenfiddich, currently cost 30% plus ZWL$10 for every litre of pure alcohol (LAA) in excise duty. This now goes up to 30% plus an equivalent of US$1 per LAA. Duty on other fermented beverages, including beers, goes up from ZWL$3 per litre to the equivalent of US$0.25 per litre.

If you are a trucker

Your trucks will no longer be allowed in city centres. A Traffic Zone Restriction is being enforced on heavy vehicles, including transit traffic, whether loaded or unloaded. Starting January 1, 2021, trucks will not be allowed in city centres or residential areas.

Option to pay toll gates in USD

You now have the option of paying for toll gates in US dollars. Small cars will pay US$2, while the charge is US$4 for buses, US$3 for minibuses and US$10 for haulage trucks.

If you had US$1000 or less in the bank when currency changed

Treasury is setting aside the equivalent of US$75 million to compensate losses suffered when government dropped the 1:1 exchange rate. The fund will be run by the Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC). A similar US$75m compensation scheme is planned for pensioners who suffered losses from the removal of the 1:1 currency peg in February 2019. This will be co-managed by Government and the Insurance Pension Commission, the insurance regulator.

Fuel importers to pay more, consumers may feel it

Excise duty on diesel will go up by US$0.05 to match the petrol duty, at US$0.30. This means diesel, whose price has tended to lag behind petrol, will cost more. A petroleum import duty of US$0.05 will also now be added to fuel imports that come into the country by road. The move is meant to force importers to use the government’s pipeline from Beira, which smaller fuel firms have found to be more expensive than using road transport.

Post published in: Business

Nestlé has announced that it is investing over $2.5 million into a new cereals manufacturing line, as part of a plant expansion in Zimbabwe.

The move reaffirms Nestlé’s commitment to the future of Zimbabwe and takes it total investment in the country to over $40 million in the last ten years.

According to Nestlé, the line expansion will immediately result in over 30% incremental volume throughput, allowing the organisation to meet local demand and increase exports into the region.

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Which president first declared Thanksgiving a federal holiday (to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November)?

Hint: There were Thanksgiving celebrations before this, but this was the first it was made a federal holiday.

See the answer on the next page.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and for most of us, it is a time to be thankful for … the day off of work. But it is traditionally a day off where we spend the entire day with family and friends. Grandparents dote on their grandchildren, all of the guys gather around the television and high five each other when their team wins the ball game. Finally, everyone gathers around the table and shares the food family style.

But this year is like no other due to COVID-19. Because these large family gatherings can potentially be multiple small-scale superspreader events, many state and local governments have tried to find ways to restrict Thanksgiving activities. Almost all have discouraged having the traditional extended family gathering and have provided health and safety guidelines. And some have banned gatherings of more than a certain number of people or a certain number of households. Some city officials have stated that police may randomly visit houses and issue fines to those who are not complying with these orders.

Despite these measures, I think we all know that most families will still celebrate Thanksgiving together. People are still flying in for the holidays. They are lining up for hours at Costco or Walmart to get the last-minute turkey and toilet paper. Granted, the gatherings will likely be smaller than years past. And most families will try to comply with the law as best they can and do whatever they can to ensure that everyone will be safe.

But let’s face it. We are all relying on the honor system. We assume that the people we invite are responsible. No one is going to ask a friend or family member for proof of a negative coronavirus test. We’ll think Cousin Johnny’s cough is just the flu. We’re not going to tell our elders to socially distance themselves from their grandchildren. And no household is going to sit down to individual tables six feet apart, eating Thanksgiving-style TV dinners while talking to each other using Zoom or Facetime.

Most of those who have not been infected think the virus is someone else’s problem. I’m sure we all know of at least one local news story where one infected person went to a gathering and ended up infecting everyone. As a result, everyone who attended had to quarantine and get tested, miss work, and keep their distance from family members. Some may have even been hospitalized. But that’s not going to happen to us. We’re good, responsible people, right? The people on the news must have done something bad, or maybe they didn’t pray hard enough.

The government could take a very draconian action and force everyone to stay home tomorrow. But that will draw outrage from people who are getting tired of yet another lockdown when the last one didn’t work. And I suspect a large amount of people will ignore the order.

As for enforcement, how far is the government going to go? I’m sure the police will step in when there is violence involved, or if the party is louder than their neighbors can stand. But I really don’t see the police having the manpower, time and the willpower to do a door-to-door inspection on every house. Do they really want to break up an otherwise peaceful family gathering because it was one person over the recommended limit?

I think the solution is to simply be careful and do our due diligence before deciding to go to a family Thanksgiving gathering. Think about the family members attending. Does one of them constantly post about COVID-19 being a hoax? Does another preach on social media about distancing and mask wearing but three hours later posts a selfie of themselves attending a questionable party? If you have bad vibes about certain people attending, then seriously reconsider going yourself.

If there is an organizer for the gathering, they should be required to ask everyone attending about any potential exposure to COVID-19. They should also ask the attendees about their thoughts on COVID-19, social distancing and mask wearing. Those who seem risky should be discouraged (or even banned) from attending. Unfortunately, this may include healthcare workers. Food can be sent to them, and they can meet with the family remotely and virtually.

If possible, attendees should be encouraged to get tested if they can get a result by Thanksgiving.

This may seem overly intrusive for a family gathering but I like to think that people will be understanding given the times we live in. We can all enjoy Thanksgiving better knowing that everyone who attends is being responsible. And those who cannot attend should be given accommodations.

Most governments have imposed restrictions on our Thanksgiving activities in the hopes of controlling the spread of COVID-19. However, I don’t think everyone will follow them strictly. It is up to us to do the right thing. As long as everyone takes some common sense precautions, I like to think that the curve will be flattened over the holiday weekend. Otherwise, the next day will be a different kind of Black Friday and the government might be forced to be the Grinch on Christmas.

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Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at sachimalbe@excite.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Allowing clients access to their money is a real pain in the ass. Post some underwhelming returns or worse for a few years straight and all of a sudden the goddamned ingrates want it back. So, uh, Jamie Dinan and York Capital aren’t going to do it anymore. (And not just temporarily this time.)

Mr. Dinan said he planned to shut down York’s European hedge funds and to turn its flagship U.S. hedge fund into one running mainly internal money. The strategies together manage less than $3 billion after years of weak performance and investor defections.

York still expects to run roughly $9 billion in private equity, private debt and other vehicles that lock up client capital for longer periods.

Companies and financial institutions rely on their counsel to stay on top of current and upcoming sanctions and export controls policies. In this rapidly changing political environment, do you have the knowledge you need to keep clients informed? 

In both business and finance, organizations must be aware of their compliance and disclosure obligations, enforcement trends and priorities, and emerging risks. And it’s not enough to simply know about them – in all industries, companies are expected to make compliance programs a priority, or risk steep penalties.  

The Trump administration has implemented numerous sanctions and export control measures. Under the incoming Biden administration, we are certain to see these policies evolve.  Here are some examples of the current landscape and what to anticipate in the years ahead:

In an attempt to limit Huawei’s access to products using U.S. semiconductor software and technology, the Trump administration’s Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expanded and extended U.S. export controls jurisdiction to certain items when destined for Huawei or its affiliates that are designated on the BIS Entity List.

Additionally, BIS issued a final rule that significantly expands the restrictions in connection with transfers of certain items subject to the Export Administration Regulations for “military end use” and “military end users” in China, Russia, and Venezuela. 

Another Trump administration policy resulted in the passage of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA).  The HKAA represented changes to, and the tightening of, U.S. export control restrictions applicable to Hong Kong in an attempt to maintain the autonomy of Hong Kong. The HKAA expands the range of persons potentially subject to U.S. sanctions – those involved in compliance should stay on top of this.  

Finally, the Trump administration relied on economic tools of coercion to further foreign policy aims. U.S. sanctions against Iran have continued to escalate, resulting in multilateral tensions. Sanctions against Russia may increase if concerns are raised about attempted interference in the presidential election. Under a Biden administration, will we see alignment between the U.S., EU and Canada with respect to these sanctions? Stay tuned.   

Of course, with sanctions come countersanctions. Russia, the EU, and China, among others, have increased the use of countersanctions to push back against U.S. sanctions and to threaten economic harm against parties that choose to comply with U.S. requirements. Any such measures could influence the policies of the incoming administration.  

In the face of these complex, changing issues, anyone involved in compliance should make sure they understand where we’ve been, and where we’re going, in order to help clients develop best practices for trade controls and other activities. 

For over twenty years, Practising Law Institute (PLI) has offered the go-to program on trade control laws and regulations. At PLI’s December 10 live webcast, Coping with U.S. Export Controls and Sanctions, high-level officials from the Departments of Commerce, State, Treasury, and Justice will provide an inside look at these topics. The program will include interactive discussions among key officials from the government agencies that regulate cross-border trade and investment, as well as experienced corporate executives and top lawyers in the field.

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Practising Law Institute is a nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and other professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise. PLI is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York and was founded in 1933 by Harold P. Seligson. The organization provides the highest quality, accredited, continuing legal and professional education programs in a variety of formats which are delivered by more than 4,000 volunteer faculty including prominent lawyers, judges, investment bankers, accountants, corporate counsel, and U.S. and international government regulators. PLI publishes a comprehensive library of Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books and Journals also available through the PLI PLUS online platform. The essence of PLI’s mission is its commitment to the pro bono community. View PLI’s upcoming live webcasts here.