The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has expressed hope that it will collect over 12.3trn/- in taxes in the 2015/2016 financial year.
On average, TRA has been collecting slightly over 844.6bn/- per month with the highest collections of over 1.06trn/- in September, this year.
The TRA Commissioner General, Rished Bade said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the revenue body had already collected almost 3.78trn/- which is 97.6 per cent of the target for the first quarter of this fiscal year. The amount is slightly over 25 per cent of the 2015/16 revenue target.
“Now it’s zero tolerance against tax evaders, there is a lot of political will in President Magufuli’s position on revenue collection,” Bade said while warning evaders that TRA would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Treasury coffers were stuffed.
Last year, TRA collected slightly over 3.18trn/- during the same quarter with the highest collection in October when 816.6bn/- was realised compared to 970.4bn/- collected in October, this year.
Bade said although revenue collection had been affected by falling commodity prices on the global market and the just ended elections, the second quarter would likely see more being collected.He said apart from sealing loopholes of tax evaders including those who deliberately use the law to delay or refuse to pay requisite taxes, TRA board of directors which met last Tuesday, agreed to walk the talk in fulfilling President Magufuli’s slogan of ‘Hapa Kazi tu’ which casually means ’Time to get down to work.’
“We have already addressed issues raised by Kariakoo traders who opposed electronic fiscal devices through a joint committee but for evaders, we will have no discussion,” he stressed while urging the public to demand receipts and film corrupt officials with their mobile phones.
“Let the public help us by demanding receipts whenever you buy a product or pay for a service, if you encounter TRA corrupt officials or any other government agency, film them and put it online,” Bade charged.
The TRA chief put on notice career smugglers who use the Indian Ocean coastline from Bagamoyo to Kilwa, saying their days are numbered. “We call upon other state organs to help us address this problem of smuggling,” he pleaded.
Talking to permanent secretaries, Bank of Tanzania governor, Professor Benno Ndulu and TRA’s Bade soon after taking over power last week, President Magufuli urged TRA to collect taxes from everybody.
“Magufuli’s government will have no memos, collect taxes from everyone whether big or small,” the president ordered as reports said Treasury coffers are almost empty. In a bid to reduce government expenditure, President Magufuli had frozen all foreign trips by public officials except with special permits from State House.
The new government is racing against time to deliver on the president’s campaign promises to abolish any fees of contributions for primary and secondary education. He also promised to ensure that loans for students at higher learning institutions are disbursed on time. Only 80 per cent of students who applied for such loans this fiscal year have been paid.
The Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) on Monday issued loans to 40,836 out of 50,830 eligible students (equivalent to 80.3 per cent of eligible applicants).
It had released loans to the second batch of 28,554 applicants to be allocated with loans for the 2015/2016 academic year.
The list was just an addition to the first phase of which 12,282 out of eligible fresh applicants were allocated and the board is set to release loans to the remaining 9,994 eligible Tanzanian students of higher learning institutions.
HELSB Executive Director George Nyatega said in the city on Monday that in the 2015/16 academic year, the board endorsed 50,830 loan applicants as eligible for loans contrary to 72,000 that were announced by the CHADEMA youth wing, BAVICHA.
He said that the information that has been spreading through the social media and other media outlets should be ignored, as they are not officially issued by the board.
“The information could have been made for political purposes; there is no truth on that, it was meant to mislead the public.
We, therefore, want to clear the air and that the board will issue loans to all eligible applicants,” the Executive Director stated in a statement.
Nyatega noted that name of applicants who have been allocated the loans are available in the Board’s website olas. heslb.go.tz and through www.heslb.go.tz, and their names have been sent to higher learning institutions for further registration procedures.
“The purpose is to ensure that all eligible fresh applicants get the loans to enable them acquire their higher education courses - they are 50,830 in total,” he said, urging all applicants to be calm as the board is working for their applications.
This move has come just two days after President John Magufuli directed the Ministry of Finance to work on the disbursement of higher learning students’ loans as a way to start implementing the promises he made during general election campaigns.
On Sunday, BAVICHA issued a 72- hour ultimatum to the board to disburse loans to all 72,000 applicants eligible for loans as only 18 per cent of the eligible for loans had received loans for the 2015/16 academic year.
In their statement issued by the wing’s Secretary General, Julius Mwita, the youth wing claimed that there was a possibility for the higher learning students to organise countrywide strikes to press for faster loan disbursement.
He said failure for the board to issue satisfactory answers; they would be accountable to the actions that will be taken by students to all over the country.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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