The attitude of small taxpayers towards presumptive tax assessment: the case study of Kibaha district

The general objective of this study was unearthing small taxpayers attitudes towards the presumptive tax assessment and the impact of that attitude on the tax administration. The study tax assessment and the impact of that attitude on the tax administration. The study surveyed taxpayers under presumptive tax assessment system so as to determine their perceptions on the equity, importance of paying taxes and integrity of tax officers. The study was conducted in Kibaha, Coast Region. Data were collected using questionnaires distributed randomly to small taxpayers attitude, size of taxpayers, and equity of the system and integrity of tax officers. Decision to accept hypotheses was based on 0.5% level of significance. The study vealed that small taxpayers have high negative attitudes towards presumptive tax systems as compared to relatively large ones and the system was considered inequitable. The study concluded that majority of taxpayers perceive tax officials as having doubtful integrity and the system lacks transparency. It is recommended that Tax authority should embark on providing intensive tax education to enable taxpayers understand their rights and obligations in complying with various tax laws and management controls should strengthened to minimize corruption practices among tax officers and improve transparency and equity so as to make the system more simpler and friendly to tax payers.