ZIMBABWEAN members of parliament (MPs) have reportedly attacked Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, labelling him as "unsmart" for "constantly "squeezing already impoverished citizens for revenue".
According to New Zimbabwe, the MPs joined voices across the political divide, urging Chinamasa to prove his financial astuteness by creating alternative sources of revenues that bring relief to citizens.
This came as reports on Friday said that Chinamasa had accused black businesses of refusing to pay taxes and yet "expect government to provide them with public services".
Chinamasa said this, as he challenged the MPs to offer constructive suggestions to help the government increase its revenue inflows.
"If you do not want to be taxed, please do not shout and expect better service delivery. Our people in the informal sector do not want to be taxed. When a black person takes over a business, they do not want to pay taxes," Chinamasa was cited as saying.
But the MPs hit back at him, with the Norton MP Temba Mliswa saying piecemeal approaches would not give government the financial liberties it needed.
"People are suffering; we are being insensitive to their plight by not providing solutions. Government has a tendency or working up to introduce a tax, you must ask yourself where the money is coming from if you are failing to do it yourself," Mliswa was quoted as saying.
The government reportedly introduced a 15 per cent value added tax (VAT) on meat recently.
The MPs said government officials needed to trim their lifestyle budget and "redirect the funds to social services like what Tanzanian President John Magufuli has done".
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