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Tanzania to raise $4.9bn from taxes next year

Saturday December 08 2012
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Tanzania Revenue Authority has a new strategy to collect more tax. Photo/FILE

Tanzania projects to collect about Tsh7.87 trillion ($4.9 billion) in taxes for the 2012/2013 financial year, an increase of 16 per cent from the amount collected in the past financial year.

The department of domestic revenue of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) said that the collection will come from value added tax (VAT), income tax, and customs.

Other collections will come from driving license, motor vehicle and registrations of various businesses.

Hamisi Lupenja, the principal officer of TRA, said the revenue body will use a block management system where all eligible companies will be registered and evaluated in accordance with the volume of their businesses.

READ: TRA upgrades tax projection model for better collections

TRA will work with the local government and business executives to create a database of all taxpayers.

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Mr Lupenja said between July 2011 and July this year, TRA collected Tsh6.7 trillion ($4.2 billion), adding that increased public awareness is expected to boost collection in 2012/2013.

According to Mr Lupenja, the projected 16 per cent increment in collection will come about through intensive auditing of companies, collection of tax arrears and roping in of companies that had never paid taxes before into the tax net.

For the 2012/2013 fiscal year, TRA will ensure that all collectable arrears are achieved by 95 per cent.

“The organisation will ensure that taxpayers are educated on tax regulations and their duty as taxpayers and try to establish good relationship with taxpayers so that they voluntarily exercise tax compliance,” said Mr Lupenja.

Border patrols will be strengthened along all illegal routes for smuggling of goods to and from the neighbouring countries.

The organisation will make sure that all goods, imported or exported, are thoroughly inspected to ascertain that all statutory levies were collected by the Customs departments.

TRA will also conduct checks to net unscrupulous traders who do not issue receipts after every transaction and use the data base as basis of valuation and to deal with all complaints and objections raised by taxpayers in accordance with the law.

Patrick Kassera, Commissioner for Domestic Revenue Department of TRA, says that the authority has come up with a new approach to address tax evasion in the country.

Mr Kassera said that the strategy include rewarding whistleblowers.

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