ZRA records admirable revenue collection
ZANZIBAR: THE Zanzibar Revenue Authority (ZRA), has collected more than 161bn/- during the first quarter of this financial year out of the 157.055bn/- target.
Revealing the good performance at a press conference held at Mazizini, the ZRA Commissioner General Yussuph, Juma Mwenda said the collection of the revenue has increased by 22.79 percent compared to the collections raised in the first quarter of last financial year 2022/2023, where a total of 131.793 bn/- was collected.
Commissioner Mwenda noted that for the first time ZRA has succeeded to surpass the monthly target in the three months of the first quarter July-September 2023.
Talking about the reasons for doing well in revenue collection, he said it was because of the commitment to achieve the target and an increase in taxes on some services by 23 percent.
Improvement of economic activities in Zanzibar due to the implementation of good economic policies by the eighth phase government led by President Hussein Mwinyi is another reason.
He said enhanced voluntary tax payment increased efficiency by ZRA employees following the implementation of the new ZRA structure, the good management of the ZRA board, the improvement of tax services in its offices in different regions of Unguja and Pemba along with the use of tax collection systems including VFMS and ZIDRAS.
In addition, Commissioner General Mwenda noted that another reason is the strengthening of cooperation with other institutions that work with ZRA, including TRA and immigration offices.
Mr Mwenda said that ZRA has put various strategies to ensure that in the second quarter (October/December) the collections increase along with educating traders to pay tax, citizens to demand receipts when they buy goods and conduct proper tax audits in its regional tax offices.
He further said that ZRA also plans to open three new tax service centres to strengthen its call centres to facilitate voluntary tax payment in Zanzibar, skills upgrading and management of electronic receipts.
