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Zambia's Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane presented a record 2027 budget of 284.8 billion kwacha (about $14 billion) to parliament on 6 November, raising value-added tax (VAT) from 16% to 16.5% from January. Mining companies, so far exempt, will pay a 15% withholding tax on the dividends they distribute. The government targets a fiscal deficit of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2027 and growth of 4.9%. Higher VAT will push up consumer prices, while the dividend tax cuts the returns of the foreign owners of copper mines just as Zambia courts investors to more than triple copper output by 2031.
