In the last ten years, Zambia has faced significant number of fiscal challenges that have further accelerated
the contraction of debt. Subsequently, servicing this debt has continued to crowd out the expenditure to
key social sectors such as education, health, environmental and social protection. The current situation
is that Zambia needs to restructure its public debt and provide the much-needed cash flows to widen its
fiscal space.
The concern around this public finance issue is how the country can turn its economic misfortunes
using its available domestic resources. In this context, it is critical to examine the current tax system to
determine aspects such as progressivity, gender considerations, and, most importantly, ways to improve
the tax system and tax justice while also raising much-needed revenue for public service delivery. DRM
efforts are expected to consider the IMF discussions on social spending, subsidy treatment, debt service
obligations, austerity measures and sustainability.
The evidence generated through this study will allow civil society organisations to engage in evidence based dialogue to influence policy decisions for progressive and sustainable public-sector financing. This
research report will be useful for tax justice and education advocates in changing the tax landscape.