HARARE — Zimbabwe has officially launched the Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS), a flagship reform supported by a US$7 million grant from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB). The project represents one of the most ambitious overhauls of the country’s revenue administration in recent decades, aimed at reducing leakages, broadening the tax base, and modernising how the state interacts with taxpayers.
The new system, rolled out in phases since 2023 and unveiled in Harare in August 2025, replaces outdated legacy platforms that were fragmented and unreliable. For the first time, Zimbabwe now has a single digital backbone integrating taxpayer registration, return filing, assessments, payments, and enforcement. Authorities believe that this will not only increase efficiency within the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) but also bring a new level of transparency and accountability to public finance.
The initiative forms part of the broader Tax and Accountability Enhancement Project (TAEP). Unlike earlier reforms that focused narrowly on technology upgrades, TAEP takes a holistic approach by pairing digital transformation with stronger public oversight. Alongside the development of TaRMS, the programme has directed resources to building the capacity of Parliament and the Auditor-General, ensuring that improvements in revenue collection are matched by tighter scrutiny of how those revenues are spent. This reflects a growing understanding that technology alone cannot deliver compliance gains unless citizens trust that taxes are used responsibly.
For businesses and individual taxpayers, TaRMS promises to simplify processes that were previously cumbersome. Registrations, filings, and payments can now be completed entirely online, reducing delays and cutting down on opportunities for bureaucratic inefficiency. A unified taxpayer profile allows ZIMRA to cross-check information across different tax types, which is expected to strengthen audit accuracy while improving fairness in enforcement. Authorities also anticipate faster processing of refunds and quicker resolution of disputes, measures that should encourage voluntary compliance and improve the overall business climate.
Government officials have set clear expectations for the system in the coming years. The platform is expected to reduce compliance gaps by shifting audits toward risk-based assessments, while lifting on-time filing and payment rates as more taxpayers adopt digital channels. Improved taxpayer services, measured through shorter processing times and more efficient dispute management, are also central to the reform’s success. Early indications from the phased rollout suggest that collections have already improved among newly registered taxpayers, a trend authorities hope to consolidate as the system matures.
Despite the promise, challenges remain. Effective implementation will depend on the quality of data migration from old systems and the smooth integration of TaRMS with banks, customs, and other government registries. Sustained adoption by both businesses and tax officials will require continued training and user support to avoid a reversion to manual processes. Perhaps most importantly, lasting success will hinge on whether citizens perceive that improved collections translate into better governance and service delivery, making oversight institutions critical to the reform’s credibility.
The timing of this reform is significant. With external borrowing costs rising and development aid shrinking, Zimbabwe must increasingly rely on domestic resource mobilisation to finance growth and public services. By combining digital efficiency with institutional accountability, TaRMS offers the potential to position Zimbabwe as a regional leader in tax modernisation. If executed effectively, it could serve as a model for other African countries seeking to strengthen their fiscal resilience while maintaining public trust.
