Over 600 traders close business in Geita Region

Geita Regional Commissioner, Robert Luhumbi (left) look at products manufactured by Mapato women group when visited at their pavilion during the International Women Day cerebration on Thursday. PHOTO|ERNEST MAGASHI

Summary

• More than 600 traders in Geita Region are reported to have closed their businesses in the year 2020 due to various reasons, including some who have changed business locations.

By Rehema Matowo

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Geita. More than 600 traders in Geita Region are reported to have closed their businesses in the year 2020 due to various reasons, including some who have changed business locations.

This was stated by Tanzania Revenue Authority’s (TRA) regional manager Hashim Ngoda during the launch of a special government programme to monitor the proper use of the Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs).

Mr Ngoda said traders relocating and others changing businesses were among the reasons for the closure of the ventures in the region.

While the TRA manager cited such reasons, the chairman of the business board in Katoro Town, Mr Deogratius Sangalali, said traders had closed businesses due to high taxes levied by TRA thus leading to bankruptcy.

He said traders had to write letters stating that they had relocated or provide reasons of illness due to the fact that when they expressed bankruptcy to TRA, the authority rejected them and instead urged them to continue with business even if it was not paying.

Mr Ngoda said while slightly over 600 traders closed their businesses, 1,944 new traders opened businesses and that from the figures it was clear that the taxes levied were friendly to them.

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He said TRA’s intelligence had revealed that some traders were pretending to have closed their business but instead they changed their business as well as TIN numbers to evade taxes and that the main activity that the authority was currently embarking on was to provide taxpayer education to traders and the public.

The seminar, which was presented to business people and journalists, aimed at providing tax education to the group of journalists so that they too could educate the public and enable them to gain insights into tax issues and facilitate compliancy in tax payment.

Opening the seminar, the Geita Regional Commissioner, Robert Gabriel, gave 16 days to traders with tax arrears to make sure they clear them while urging those challenged to visit TRA offices for assistance.

TRA Geita Region targets to collect Sh31.95 billion in the 2020/21 financial year - with Sh15.23 billion having been already collected to-date.