Collective benefit should supersede individual interest

If the incident highlighted in Matthew 22 verses 15 to 22 in the New Testament of the Holy Bible is anything to go by, one sees that taxation has always been a thorny issue among people as the Scriptures talk about the Pharisees and Herodians, fed up with the Roman Empire tax system, grumbled. Perhaps in a bid to find justification for their desire to avoid taxes, they kind of cornered Jesus and asked Him: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” In his response, Jesus was at his usual philosophical best and said: “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” They handed him a denarius bearing the portrait of the emperor and Jesus told them: “Give, therefore, to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s [or give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God].” The above Biblical scenario of over 2 000 years ago crossed my mind this week after some traders protested the rollout of the electronic invoicing system (EIS) by the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) with effect from May 1 2026.

They shut down their businesses in protest to the new value-added tax (VAT) collection system touted to enhance efficiency unlike its hardware-based predecessor electronic fiscal device (EFD). In their protests which have seen MRA delaying the roll out of EIS, first from November 1 2025 to February 1 2026 and the final implementation last Friday, the traders, mostly VAT-registered ones, have argued that the system would compromise their businesses. They particularly detest the EIS’s abilities to issue electronic tax invoices, manage stock records and transmit transaction data to MRA in real time.

Practically, this arrangement means no evasion by way of“opandareceiptmulipiraK5 000 [if you evade VAT the price will be lower…].” Mechanics of the EIS seem to lean more towards ensuring compliance, transparency and accountability, rendering the fears unfounded. What is further mind boggling is the fact that VAT is a consumption tax which is assessed on the value added to goods and services at each stage in the production and distribution chain borne by the final consumer. If anything, businesses act as conduits, collecting the tax on sales (output tax) and reclaim VAT paid on purchases (input tax) to remit the difference to tax authorities or Caesar.

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For a country like Malawi reeling under a heavy public debt estimated at K22 trillion with 65 percent of it domestic and debt servicing taking up about 40 percent of the already dwindling domestic revenue, there could not be a better way than improving efficiency and transparency in tax collection to bolster the coffers. Given the background of protests, it was relieving on Tuesday afternoon to hear MRA Commissioner General Felix Tambulasi stating that 7 500 out of the 9 000 VAT-registered businesses had transitioned to the new platform, meaning that it is 1 500 not in the loop. This data raise questions like what is it that the 7 500 have seen in the system that the other 1 500 is missing?

To respond to the above question, I can only speculate that there could be something fishy that we cannot see with our “naked eyes” happening with the VAT they collect on behalf of the State. Businesses set up prices upon factoring in their overhead costs then add VAT to the price, so how are they going to be negatively affected? I personally feel some of the traders are scared of the transparency and accountability the EIS seems set to bring on board that could seal the loopholes in the previous system.

What is further unfortunate is that the protests appear to have taken a “mob justice” approach where even those on board the new platform are being forced to close their businesses. My favourite Lions Clubs International code of ethics comes to mind, it says: “To remember that in building up my business it is not necessary to tear down another’s; to be loyal to my customers or clients and true to myself.”

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