Govt collects 60bn/- through land rent charges from land owners

FATMA ABDU

THE Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development has collected a total of 60bn/- in taxes, equivalent to 85 per cent out of 70bn/- , the target for the 2015/16 fiscal year.

The money that was realised within a period of ten months from June, last year, up to April, this year, was a result of the ministry’s move of imposing fines to all land owners who violated the directive of developing land in the city.

The Acting Head of Tax Department, Ms Rehema Kilonzi, made the remarks in Dar es Salaam when addressing the press on the strategies of imposing fines to land owners who violates the terms of developing land and payment of land rent.

She said in ensuring the goal is attained, the ministry will take those land rent debtors before the court of law for failure to settle their land rents on time.

“We also impose penalties to all land owners in the country who have violated the land development by changing the use of the plots given for other purposes without permission,” she said. Expounding further, she said that the government has expected to collect a total of 854,238,791.5 as fines of the conversion of the areas which does not follow the laws of land ownership.

“Within one month and half (starting from February, this year) we reached over 670 land owners in Sinza and Kijitonyama as we inspected their areas and making evaluations to those who violated the terms of land ownership,” she said. She added that they also realised that many land owners have been violating the terms of developing land by changing the purpose of land use.

Ms Kilonzi called upon all people owning land plots to develop it according to the terms given and settle their required taxes on time to avoid legal measures to be taken against them. “The ministry wants all people who have been inspected, evaluated and given title deeds to report to the ministry’s department of Rent for further clarification.

We would like to inform the general public that the exercises will continue in order to tame down the behaviour of altering land use plans without first considering the law as instructed by the town or city planners,” she explained.

For his part, Town Planner Officer, Mr Sijaona Mwasomola, said that the land rent collection exercise is expected to continue in various areas in the city unabatedly and other regions in the country, in collaboration with Zone Assistant Commissioners of Land.

He said that at present the ministry is pressing private and public institutions some 14bn/- as land rent in different areas. Various institutions have not paid land rent. We informed all companies and institutions responsible to ensure the taxes were paid promptly in order for them to avoid being taken to the court of law or get land ownership cancelled