Zimbabwe's 2026 National Budget introduces a new Digital Services Withholding Tax that will directly impact global digital platforms operating in the country, including ride-hailing services such as Bolt and inDrive, as well as satellite internet providers like Starlink.
The tax, announced by Finance Minister Prof. Mthuli Ncube in the 2026 Budget Speech, replaces the traditional VAT on imported digital services. It will apply to payments made to offshore digital platforms for services such as e-hailing fees, online content subscriptions, digital advertising and satellite-based internet access. This means any fees paid by Zimbabwean users or local intermediaries to foreign digital operators will now attract a mandatory withholding tax collected at the point of payment.
According to the Budget, the responsibility for withholding and remitting the tax will fall on "paying agents", which include local banks, mobile money platforms and other financial institutions processing payments on behalf of users. This effectively closes long-standing loopholes that allowed foreign digital companies to earn revenue from Zimbabwe without paying domestic taxes.
