An exploratory study of problems associated with excise duty on soft drinks in Tanzania: The Case of Carbonated Soft Drinks

The objective of this study was to explore problems associated with special exercise duty as levied on soft drinks in Tanzania. The study took an empirical investigation to explore problems associated with the excise tax on local manufacturers of soft drinks in Tanzania. The study made use of both primary and secondary data and information. Whereas the secondary data were obtained from different official reports and statistical records that include reports from Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Planning Commission and Tanzania Bureau of Statistics (TBS). Furthermore, the study benefited tremendously from primary information obtained through many useful discussions and interviews from all The study found out existence of a number of problems associated with excise duty on soft drinks. These included; lack of better methods of projecting and monitoring revenues based on production levels by the majority of the manufacturers including the CSDI, lack of coordination among institutions dealing with taxes (thus leading to overlapping between central and local government taxes), and problems of bearing compliance cost. Major implication is that these problems need to be corrected in order to create good environment for the local manufacturers and revenue collection for government.