The Mozambican Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, believes that the extractive industry, the main tax payer to the state coffers, has more possibilities of boosting Mozambique’s socio-economic development, since it presents more fiscal space that can be explored.According to the minister, who was speaking on Thursday in Maputo at the opening of an International Conference on Taxation of the Extractive Sector, organized by the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT), under the slogan “Mineral Energy Resources as a Vector for Global Economic Sustainability”, the need to increase taxation in the sector is not only felt by Mozambique, but constitutes the reality experienced by most of the developing countries that have this type of resource.“This is currently one of the sectors that grew most and contributed most to exports, a fact that attracted more foreign exchange to the country. To ensure a greater contribution of the sector to the development of our country, several regulatory measures are underway to remove barriers to investment, as well as to ensure transparency”, the Minister said.Tonela highlighted the establishment of the Kimberley Process Management Unit, responsible for the management of security procedures, internal control and the sale of precious metals and gems.“This measure is already having an effect, because, year after year, the data related to the production and export of gold and precious gems indicate an increase in revenue for the State”, he said.“In this sense, this conference is a valuable opportunity for representatives of Governments, companies, experts and civil society to together discuss and find innovative solutions to the challenges associated with taxation in the extractive industry”, the Minister said.The recent data, made available by the Tax Authority (AT), state that, in 2022, large projects in natural resources contributed a total of 18 billion meticais (about 281 million dollars) to the State coffers, as compared to 13.4 billion Meticais collected overall in 2021, which is a growth of over 34 per cent. (ICE MAPUTO)

Fonte notizia: AIM