Land use rates in Mozambique: 44,000 taxpayers owe state money

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Land use rates in Mozambique: 44,000 taxpayers owe state money

11:59 CAT | 07 Jul 2017

DW (File photo)

At least 44,000 out the 80,000 taxpayers officially registered in Mozambique do not pay the land use fees, especially in jurisdictions that do not have Cadastre services. This is a matter of concern to the National Directorate of Land, a sector within the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development.

The fact was revealed by the National Director of Lands, Simão Joaquim, at the opening of the first National Meeting of Lands yesterday in Beira.

Participating in the meeting and tasked with drawing up collection mechanisms are licensees in debt to the state, staff of the sector and members of municipal councils and civil society.

Joaquim said that, of the more than 80,000 registered taxpayers, only 45 percent (36,000) were up to date with payments. “We are below expectations,” he said. Asked where the system is breaking down, Joaquim explained that there were several factors, including the dispersion of taxpayers and the low collection efficiency.

“Our land right holders live in the cities and their properties are in the interior of the provinces, which makes it difficult to collect. In addition, our collection system is out of step with the current situation. We need to introduce charging mechanisms that broaden the tax base,” he said.

This is the collection strategy that is to be drawn at the Beira meeting, which ends today.

With regard to the allocation of DUATs to associations of small scale farmers and livestock breeders, Joaquim said that the Terra Segura (Secure Land) Programme was launched in 2015 with the aim of registering all land occupations in Mozambique.

This is a process aimed at occupants in good faith and those governed by customary norms and practices and, in this context, “the registration is currently at about ten percent of the target, which is five million registrations”.

The first National Meeting of Lands taking place in Beira aims to evaluate the performance of the sector, discuss strategic matters concerning the DUAT legal regime, the framework of land governance in the country and the fee collection system.

Source: Diário de Moçambique