Don’t harass hoteliers, local govts told
Hotels Association of Tanzania (HAT) chief executive officer Lathifa Sykes has called on the central government to stop local authorities from “harassing HAT members” until the Court of Appeal delivers the ruling on the matter.
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Hotels Association of Tanzania (HAT) chief executive officer Lathifa Sykes has called on the central government to stop local authorities from “harassing HAT members” until the Court of Appeal delivers the ruling on the matter.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania hoteliers have criticised local authorities for charging them a contentious service levy while a case on its objection is still in court.
Hotels Association of Tanzania (HAT) chief executive officer Lathifa Sykes has called on the central government to stop local authorities from “harassing HAT members” until the Court of Appeal delivers the ruling on the matter.
HAT which coordinates and represents accommodation facilities in matters relating to hotels and tourism filed a petition to the Court of Appeal to challenge the Local Government Authorities Act for imposing the service levy which the association claims hotels were exempted.
However, the hoteliers say the authorities are still asking for the levy during the time (about two years) they have been waiting for the court to clarify the matter.
While the hoteliers understand that the Finance Act of 2012 continues to exempt hoteliers from paying the District Service Levy, the local authorities say that exemption was removed.
“We understand that district councils have a job to do but they must also appreciate that we (hoteliers) have been seeking the clarification for two years on the matter. What is happening is that district councils have been on and off and now they are back at it asking for the money. We need to finalise the appeal process,” said Ms Sykes by phone.
The levy is charged at 0.3 per cent of the turnover, according to her.
“We are neither refusing to pay the levy nor lobbying for exemption but we are fighting for our constitutional right to follow what the law says. We are getting frustrated by the business environment in the hospitality industry,” she added.
Tanzania Confederation of Tourism executive secretary Richard Rugimbana advised the local authorities to wait until the Court of Appeal delivers the ruling.
“We believe the government is aware of this matter and we should all wait for the ruling. Nobody refuses to pay the taxes. We all want to do what is required by the law.”
Tanzania gets $2.2 billion a year from tourism. The country hosted 1.1 million visitors in 2014.
