Incentivos fiscales y expansión de las inversiones: la industria del turismo en Zimbabue
| Autor | Watson Munyanyi/Campion Chiromba |
| Cargo | Full time Lecturer in the Department of Banking and Finance at Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe/Department of Banking and Finance Lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe |
| Páginas | 27-51 |
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Tax incentives and investment expansion: evidence
from Zimbabwe’s tourism industry
Incentivos fiscales y expa nsión de las inv ersiones: la in dustria del turi smo en Zimbabue
WATSON MUNYANYI
CAMPION CHIROMBA
R e c e i v e d : 1 0 / 0 9 / 2 0 1 5
M o d i f i e d : 0 3 / 1 1 / 2 0 1 5
A c c e p t e d : 2 3 / 1 1 / 2 0 1 5
JEL: L83, H2 5
DOI: 10.17230 /ad-minis ter.27.2
www.ea fit.e du.co/ad- minis ter
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 By
1
2
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the effects of tax incentives on investment growth in the tourism sector in less
developed countries, using Zimbabwe as the case study. The study was prompted by the realisation that
many less developed countries use tax incentives as means for luring investors into their countries yet
there is a general lack of analysis on whether such tax incentives have any impact on social and capital
growth. The study employed face-to-face and telephone interviews with key stakeholders in the tourism
sector that were selected through stratified and random sampling methods. Questionnaires, distributed
by hand, post and email were also used in situations where interviews were not feasible. Secondary
data was used as a bedrock for detailed analysis. The paper established that most policy makers indeed
use tax incentives to lure investors into the tourism industry but such policies are not followed by other
supportive policies in other areas of the economy that help boost investment in the tourism sector. Other
factors like corruption, transparency in government policies, length and cost of starting a business in
the country, for instance, are other important factors that need to be taken into consideration. Among
other recommendations there is a need for political stability, consistent and supportive policy, limited
government interference in the industry, decentralization and opening up of more local and foreign
tourism promotion centres, application of low tax rates across industries and the general creation of a
favourable environment for the effectiveness of tax incentives.
KEYWORDS
tourism investment; tax incentives; economic growth; tourism.
Este trabajo investiga los efectos de los incentivos fiscales sobre el crecimiento de las inversiones en
el sector del turismo en los países menos desarrollados, utilizando Zimbabue como estudio de caso.
El estudio fue motivado por la constatación de que muchos países subdesarrollados utilizan incentivos
fiscales como medio de atraer a los inversores en sus países, sin embargo todavía existe una carencia
general de análisis para determinar si este tipo de incentivos fiscales tienen algún impacto en el
crecimiento social y del capital. El estudio empleó entreviste en persona y por teléfono con los principales
interesados del sector turístico, los cuales fueron seleccionados a través de un muestreo estratificado
y métodos aleatorios. También se utilizaron cuestionarios distribuidos en persona, por correo postal y
por correo electrónico en situaciones en las entrevistas no eran factibles. Los datos secundarios se
utilizaron como fundamento para el análisis detallado. En el documento se establece que la mayoría
de los responsables políticos sí utilizan incentivos fiscales para atraer a los inversores en la industria
del turismo, pero estas políticas no son seguidas por otras políticas de apoyo en otras áreas de la
economía que ayuden a impulsar la inversión en el sector turístico. Otros factores como la corrupción,
la transparencia en las políticas gubernamentales, la duración y el costo de iniciar un negocio en el país,
entre otros, son diferentes factores importantes que deben ser tomados en consideración. Entre otras
recomendaciones se encuentra la necesidad de una estabilidad política, una política coherente y de
1. Full time Lecturer in the Department of Banking and Finance at Great Zimbabwe University,
Masvingo, Zimbabwe, E-mail: wmunyanyi@gzu.ac.zw or wmunyanyi@hotmail.com
2. Department of Banking and Finance Lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo,
Zimbabwe. E-mail: cchiromba@gzu.ac.zw/ or cchiromba@gmail.com/
AD-mi nister Nº. 27 julio- diciem bre 201 5 pp. 2 7 - 51 · ISSN 1692- 0279 · eISSN 2256- 4322
Watson Munyanyi · Camp ion Ch iromba
Tax incen tives and investmen t expans ion: evi dence fr om Zimbab we’s tour ism indu stry
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apoyo, la interferencia limitada del gobierno en la industria, la descentralización y la apertura de los centros
locales y extranjeros de promoción turística, la aplicación de tipos impositivos bajos en todos los sectores y la
creación general de un entorno favorable para la efectividad de los incentivos fiscales.
PALABRAS CLAVE
Inversión turística; incentivos fiscales; crecimiento económico; turismo.
INTRODUCTION
“Travel &Tourism’s impact on the economic and social development of a country
can be enormous; opening it up for business, trade and capital investment, creating
jobs and entrepreneurialism for the workforce and protecting heritage and cultural
values”, World Travel & Tourism Council Economic Impact Report (2015). According
to the same report, Travel & Tourism generated US$7.6 trillion (10% of global GDP)
and 277 million jobs (1 in 11 jobs) for the global economy in 2014, a number that,
according to World Travel & Tourism Council (2013), could even rise to one in ten
jobs by 2022. The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was USD 2,364.8
billion (3.1% of total GDP) in 2014, and is forecast to rise by 3.7% in 2015, and to rise
by 3.9% per annum, from 2015-2025, to USD3,593.2bn (3.3% of total GDP) in 2025,
WTTEI (2015). Recent years have seen Travel & Tourism grow at a faster rate than
both the wider economy and other significant sectors such as automotive, financial
services and health care.
The tourism industry is an industry that is dicult to define. This is due to the
fact that everything in a country can potentially feed into the tourism chain. This
paper defines tourism industry as a variety of dierent actors, including hotels, air
carriers and transport companies, tour operators, travel agents, rental agencies, and
countless suppliers from other sectors, Corthay and Loeprick (2010).
Tax, in most countries, is the main source of government income. According to
Heritage Foundation Report (2012), tax in Zimbabwe contributes 49.3 percent of
gross domestic product (GDP), in South Africa it contributes 26.9 percent whilst
in the USA it also contributes 26.9 percent of GDP. This shows that in Zimbabwe
tax contributes a very large chunk of income towards its $10.81 billion fiscal budget,
according to World Bank Country Data (2013). In Jamaica, tourism accounts for
19.5 per cent of GDP, 20.4 per cent of government revenues, 25 per cent of jobs
and 50 per cent of exports, Brown (2012). The fact that tax is the main source of
government income implies that the government can show its commitment towards
the growth of a particular sector by foregoing this income in exchange for increased
investments. In Zimbabwe, the tourism industry is ranked third in terms of income
generation after mining and agriculture industries, hence the need to strengthen
this sector. According to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Fact-book (2012) figures,
Zimbabwe’s service sector fixed capital investment as a percentage of GDP was
21.9 percent; the tourism industry contributed 54.6 percent towards GDP whilst it
employed 24 percent of total population.
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