VAT law plugs tax evasion loopholes: TRA

Head Office Taxpayer Education Manager Diana Masala

What you need to know:

Speaking to TRA tax experts and staff members in the region recently, Head Office Taxpayer Education Manager Diana Masala said in the past some religious institutions and organisations were misusing the law on tax exemptions, but it no longer existed. The new law was assented to on December 11, 2014 and came into force on July 1, 2015.

Morogoro. The Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, 2014 has started biting by plugging all loopholes of tax evasion by various institutions, including some religious and public ones that were enjoying tax exemptions, it has been said.

Speaking to TRA tax experts and staff members in the region recently, Head Office Taxpayer Education Manager Diana Masala said in the past some religious institutions and organisations were misusing the law on tax exemptions, but it no longer existed. The new law was assented to on December 11, 2014 and came into force on July 1, 2015.

She added that all under agreement projects of public institutions before the new tax law came into force would not be affected.

For his part, TRA Head Office Taxpayer Education and Service Manager Gabriel Mwangosi noted that VAT was necessary to be paid just like other taxes.

Mr Mwangosi also called upon businesspeople to be transparent in their sales to avoid inconveniences that could occur once TRA inspections were conducted. He insisted that the government was a legitimate participant in any business of any businessperson, saying it was important for the businesspeople to know and comply with what the law required.

He said after verifying taxpayer identification number (TIN), the regions of Morogoro, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Mbeya and Dodoma had officially started being issued with new TIN certificates, while businesspeople being called upon to go to TRA offices in the relevant regions for the same exercise.