MPs accused of rampant tax evasion

Some Members of Parliament and top government officials have been associated with tax evasion, with stakeholders demanding that the law take its course.

Speaking at a 2015/16 budget review session over the weekend in Dar es Salaam, stakeholders warned that, tax evasion by high ranking officials and MPs encourages unscrupulous businessmen to do the same.

“Politicians and many other public figures are notorious for evading tax which contributes to the loss of government revenue,” alleged tax expert Nsanyiwa Donald.

“To curb this unacceptable practice, the government should impose strict measures to ensure the lawmakers and other top government officials are the first and foremost tax compliers,” he urged.

“Among major factors that contribute to tax evasion in the country is non-compliance among government officials,” he observed.

He urged the government to ensure public figures that evade taxes are brought to justice; “there are many public leaders and MPs in particular, who own big businesses but evade paying taxes….if these are brought before the law the rest of the country would adhere to tax compliance regulations,” he said.

Seconding the views, Mzumbe University economist Prof Donald Ngowi said; “If the country could attain viable tax management, there was no need to rely on external loans and grants.”

He also advised for a closely controlled expenditure of public funds as there has been embezzlement of revenue, something which pulls back the feet of those who contribute to the development of the nation.

“Embezzlement of public funds has been a cry for many years now; bad enough the government does not seem to worry much about it, something which leads to more funds to be misused as no one cares,” he said.

He challenged the government to tell the public how the collected tax is spent, so as to make the public more informed instead of remaining silent.

Contacted for comments, Kigoma South legislator David Kafulila admitted that some MPs own big businesses but they don’t pay tax and nobody dares to hold them responsible.

“It is true that some MPs evade paying tax, this is not fair for a person who represents the people, ”he said.

Kafulila blamed the government for the delay to enact a law that would separate business and politics since the law could help to check revenue loss through
tax evasions.

“Seven years back the government promised to enact the law separating politics and business, something which has not been implemented todate, “he explained.
The MP for Ludewa, Deo Filikunjombe said that it is not fair to blame MPs alone because there are many people who evade tax.

He recommended that public awareness be conducted to educate the people on the importance of paying taxes.

“Paying tax is everybody’s obligation regardless of who you are, a normal citizen or an MP, it is against the law to evade paying taxes, what matters here is for everyone to pay tax,” he said.

In 2013 it was reported that about 1.5 million Tanzanians out of 15 potential taxpayers paid tax, but many notorious politicians and government officials evaded complying with crucial national obligation resulting in the country losing more than 1trn/- in uncollected revenue annually.

A report by Interfaith titled ‘The One Billion Dollar Question: How Can Tanzania Stop Losing So Much Tax Revenue,’ questioned the paltry earnings that the government has been getting from different sector in form of tax.

It was also revealed in the study that large multinational companies were major beneficiaries of tax waivers and incentives, whereas religious organisations accounted for just 0.05 per cent of all tax exemptions.