Mwalimu Nyerere’s Perspective on Taxation for Development: Is it Relevant Today?

Abstract

This study discusses Mwalimu Nyerere’s perspective on taxation for development and its relevance today. Mwalimu Nyerere avers that,  for any state to prosper, people must pay taxes for the government to handle its regular and development expenditures. The  government often introduces extra taxes for accumulating more revenue for its development projects. Undeniably, extra taxes create a  danger for imposing excessive taxes to individuals. Alternatively, the government shall employ other methods for obtaining more funds  and avoiding excessive taxes. It is revealed in this study, Tanzania has employed traditional taxation, extra taxation, and other methods of  obtaining funds. However, it has never been successful in obtaining sufficient funds for its development projects. The reasons for  insufficiency are partly because Tanzania’s financial and tax regime is not entrepreneurial in nature. Accordingly, it allows: ungrounded  tax exemptions; unreasonable tax grace period; unrealistic tax assessments; inadequate cover of taxable businesses and it is more  favourable to foreigners than to indigenous. The author employed observation, interview, and documentary review to access both  primary and secondary data. It is recommended in this study that, Tanzania needs to have a financial and tax regime that is  entrepreneurial in nature. Financial and tax regime of this nature can serve better on the aspect of taxation for development s it will be in  tune with reasonable revenues system, contain reasonable tax procedures, covers all tax base and taxable income, addressing all  ecessary exceptions, closing all possible Pandora’s boxes, and it is capable of being realistically executed.