Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office –Union matters Samia Suluhu Hassan has refuted claims that imports entering Tanzania Mainland through Zanzibar were double taxed.She made this revelation during university students’ concert which evaluated the 50 years of the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
The concert was held at Migombani area and was officiated by the minister of State in the Second Vice President’s Office in Zanzibar, Mohamed Aboud Mohamed.
Samia said the complaints which have been made by some businessmen and politicians are baseless accusations aimed at undermining the union, noting that the tax system applied in Mainland Tanzania and at the Isles were similar.
“No imports are double taxed when imported through Zanzibar to Tanzania Mainland. We simply stand for a single tax system for all commodities ferried from Zanzibar to Mainland,” said Samia.
She said given the fact of economic instability, Zanzibar has put in place tax reliefs on some imports such as food and vehicles.
However, she said Zanzibar imports which were exempted from tax need to be taxed whenever they are shipped to the Mainland market, noting that the move aims to ensure fair competition in the market.
Ms Samia insisted that the standards used by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to calculate tax due, were those accepted by the East Africa Community (EAC).
Adding that there wasn’t even a single case of businessmen who managed to back their claims that their imports were taxed twice with vivid evidence.
“Motor vehicles imported through Zanzibar were taxed differently from those imported through Mainland ports. This is a reason why TRA charges Zanzibar levied tax deficiency to lay the one carpet in the field of trade and economy,” said minister Samia.
The minister also noted that some unscrupulous business people buy goods at cheap prices from Zanzibar for the purpose of gaining a substantially high profit.
Source: The Citizen, reported by Mwinyi Saallah from Zanzibar, Tanzania
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