The government will introduce a 15% digital services withholding tax on payments to offshore online platforms, starting 1 January 2026, as part of efforts to regulate the rapidly growing digital economy.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced the measure while presenting the 2026 national budget on Thursday.
The new tax will affect millions of Zimbabweans who use streaming services, ride-hailing apps, online content platforms, and satellite internet services.
Ncube said the tax is meant to ensure fairness in the digital marketplace and protect the country’s revenue as more services move online. He said:
“Most digital subscription fees, commissions and access charges are currently paid outside Zimbabwe’s borders without attracting Value Added Tax (VAT), giving foreign digital platforms an unfair competitive advantage over local service providers who are fully taxed within Zimbabwe.
“The digitisation of economies has increased the consumption of online services, most of which are supplied by offshore companies without a physical presence in Zimbabwe.
These transactions are occurring outside our tax net, resulting in revenue leakages and inequitable competition with domestic businesses.”
Under the new system, banks and mobile money operators will automatically deduct the 15% tax at the point of payment, making collection immediate and closing long-standing loopholes that made enforcement difficult.
This means that whenever a customer pays for services such as Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, ride-hailing apps, digital content subscriptions, or Starlink satellite internet, the tax will be withheld before the payment is sent offshore.
Ncube said similar measures are now common in many countries as tax systems adapt to digital commerce.
He added that the policy is expected to increase government revenue while creating a fairer playing field for local businesses competing with multinational tech giants.
More: CITE
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