Zimbabwe has found an easy scapegoat for the current cash shortage in the country. Foreign business owners, who have to comply with the country’s indigenisation regulations by today, are not banking their proceeds and do not pay tax. According to the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board, at least 90 percent of the foreign businesses that had applied for compliance with the indigenisation laws do not have bank accounts. They are also not registered with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. NIEEB chief executive Wilson Gwatiringa said: “This means they are not paying tax and that their money is not being accounted for in the banking system.” Some 800 foreign-owned companies are said to have applied for compliance. Reports have said as much as US$4 billion is circulating outside the formal banking system, in Zimbabwe.
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