Tanzania: Billions stuck in tax disputes

About 1tr/- was disputed between 2002 and 2014 while 168bn/- has been tied up in cases which are pending for years due to lack of knowledge of taxpayers’ role, a prominent tax expert has said.

Dr Kibuta Ongwamuhana, the Managing Partner of Ako Law’s, said in Dar es Salaam over the weekend that taxpayers need to understand their roles to overcome the rising in number of disputes on their tax obligations.
“Tax revenue is adversely affected if disputes are not resolved on time, thus tax advisors should play a role in ensuring effective resolutions are being met,” he said during the launch of his book titled Tax Dispute Resolution – A Manual for the Tax Practitioner, co-authored by Allan Kileo, Wilson Mukebezi and Salome Gondwe.
Tax disputes resolution has assumed a great significance as the administration system in the country strives to increase its capacity to enforce tax collection to meet the set targets by the government.
“I call upon taxpayers to employ legitimate ways of paying tax to avoid more disputes from rising,” said Dr Ongwamuhana.The Chairman of the Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal, Dr Fauz Twaib, pointed out that it was a very practical book because it contained a lot of important materials to advocates and tax consultants who handle tax cases.
“The book aims to reduce a backlog of pending disputes at the Tax Appeal Board and Tax Appeals Tribunal and Court of Appeal as people will have an understanding of the matter,” said Dr Twaib.
By MAUREEN ODUNGA, Tanzania Daily News