TAX MATTERS: How employment income is taxed

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THE Zimbabwean tax system is based on the source plus concept. This makes residents liable to tax on their income for services rendered in Zimbabwe, despite the contract being signed elsewhere or the remuneration being paid from a source outside Zimbabwe.
Residents who are however on temporary assignment outside Zimbabwe are deemed by section 12(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act to be rendering services in Zimbabwe for the duration of that assignment provided the assignment is for a period not longer than an aggregate of 183 days, which is a period of temporary absence in a year of assessment.

This applies to employees and directors alike who have physically rendered services outside Zimbabwe for a period or periods not exceeding 183 days in a year of assessment. In spite of this, income for days physically rendered in Zimbabwe is taxable even if one has only worked for a day.