Impact of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on tourism growth in Tanzania

Abstract

This study sought to assess the impact of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on tourism growth in Tanzania. This study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches in the collection of relevant information. Descriptive design was useful for collecting data and techniques used in analysis. This study used sample size of the 50 respondents. Simple random and purposive samplings were employed during the study. Both primary and secondary data was collected in this study. Data were collected by using questionnaire, interview and document review. Data from the questionnaires were analysed quantitatively using descriptive statistics provided by SPSS. Qualitative data were analysed by using content analysis. Study findings unveiled that, small companies have little VAT knowledge and the government of Tanzania did not consider small tourism companies when introducing VAT. The findings of this study depicted that VAT has negative impact on small tourism companies. Also, majority of the respondents indicated that, small tourism business was performed well before the introduction of VAT hence the introduction of VAT has brought no improvement to their businesses. The study recommends that tax regulations governing small tourism companies should be simplified in order to make compliance easier for them