Tanzania: TRA Sets New Tax Collection Record

By Deogratius Kamagi

TANZANIA Revenue Authority (TRA) collected a total of 4.972tr/- during the second quarter of the
current financial year 2019/20, with tight monitoring of the use of electronic fiscal devices (EFDs), improved awareness among taxpayers and the strengthened collection systems being among the key attributes.

The amount collected is equivalent to 97.49 per cent of the target that was 5.1tr/-.

This means the taxman missed the target by only less than three per cent.

TRA Commissioner General, Dr Edwin Mhede , said on Wednesday that the current collection is up by 19.78 per cent of the collections that were recorded during the corresponding period of the last financial year, 2018/19.

During the second quarter of the 2018/2019 financial year, TRA collected 4.151tr/- out of the targeted 4.739tr/-.

The collections were equal to 87.59 per cent of the target.

"In December 2019, TRA collected 1.987tr/-, which is equivalent to 100.2 per cent of the target, which was pegged at 1.983tr/-.

The collection was higher by 22 per cent of the amount that the taxman put in the government coffers during the last financial year," he said.

A total of 1.484tr/- was for October out of the targeted 1.579tr and 1.501tr/- in November as the target was to get 1.538tr/-. The collections were equivalent to 93.98 per cent and 97.59 per cent, respectively.

He assured that they would keep focusing on fixing tax loopholes and spread tax payers' education in order to ensure that the government gets all taxes according to the law.

Dr Mhede reminded all taxpayers to continue ad hering to the law regulations, maintaining that dodgers were at a high risk of facing the law.

"Despite increased collections, deep down I feel that we haven't done enough; we still have a lot to do for the development of our country, I'm sure together we can deliver more than this," he noted.

According to him, people's mindsets on paying tax are now open thanks to the proper education that has been issued by the authority across the country.

"To make things easier, we are now focusing on the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) aimed at simplifying ways of paying tax, and this is a direction that TRA should go," he pointed out.

During the first quarter of the current financial year, the taxman collected a total of 4.358tr/-.

For the financial year 2019/20, TRA is required to collect a total of 19.1tr/- that is to be added to the country's budget that stands at 33.1 trillion.