WIDER BASE, LATE RUSH TO HELP TRA CLOSE 5 TRILLION SHILLINGS REVENUE GAP

In Summary

• According to the 2017/18 budget, TRA is tasked with collecting Sh17.1 trillion to partly finance the government’s Sh31.7 trillion revenue and expenditure plan.

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) is optimistic it will attain its 2017/18 target despite facing the daunting task of collecting Sh5.32 trillion in the remaining three months of the current financial year.

According to the 2017/18 budget, TRA is tasked with collecting Sh17.1 trillion to partly finance the government’s Sh31.7 trillion revenue and expenditure plan.

Revealing the actual tax collections for the third quarter of the current financial year, TRA taxpayer services and education director Richard Kayombo said a total of Sh11.78 trillion had been collected during the nine months between July 2017 and March 2018.

This suggests that, on average, the taxman has been collecting Sh1.31 trillion per month so far.

To meet its overall target for current the financial year, TRA will need to pull up its socks and collect a staggering Sh5.32 trillion between this month and June, translating into an average of Sh1.773 trillion per month.

TRA registered its best performance in December 2017 when it collected a total of Sh1.63 trillion.

The agency is, however, optimistic that it has what it takes to collect Sh17.1 trillion as outlined under the 2017/18 budget.

The optimism is based on the upward trajectory of revenue collections during the first nine months of the current financial year compared to the previous year.

The Sh11.78 trillion is an increase of 8.46 per cent on the Sh10.86 trillion that was collected during the opening nine months of 2016/17.

“This is not a bad trend. We have what it takes to attain the target, and that is why we are working around the clock,” Mr Kayombo said.

He banks his hopes on taxpayers who are waiting until the deadline, and the taxman’s efforts to cast the tax net wider.

According to Mr Kayombo, taxpayers, especially larger ones, have a tendency to wait until the deadline.

On registration of new taxpayers, Mr Kayombo said TRA had started by registering traders in the informal sector, including hawkers popularly known as Machinga.

Mr Kayombo was recently quoted saying TRA was planning to register at least one million taxpayers by June, this year. The number of taxpayers currently stands at 2.615 million.

However, Prof Haji Semboja of the University of Dar es Salaam said it would be difficult for TRA to attain the target in the remaining three months.

“The trend is not that bad, but it will be difficult because the remaining period is relatively short.

“I think TRA will miss the target by between 4.5 and 5 per cent. However, this is not bad, considering that the general economic situation has not been very positive in the current financial year,” Prof Semboja said.

He urged TRA to create a friendly environment for taxpayers.

Mr Kayombo attributed TRA’s third quarter performance to increased taxpayer compliance, saying transparency in tax collection and prudent expenditure of revenue tends to encourage more taxpayers to pay their dues.

He also linked the performance to the commitment of the taxman, saying TRA staff were working day and night to attain collection targets.

“We have been plugging tax evasion loopholes and sensitising businesses on the importance of compliance so that we can increase revenue collection,” noted Mr Kayombo.

“We commend patriots who have been informing us about the loopholes through which some unscrupulous people were evading tax.”

TRA recorded a 14.49 per cent increase in revenue collection in March, this year, compared to March 2017.

The collection last month was Sh1.54 trillion against the Sh1.34 trillion collected in March 2017.

The Citizen