| dc.description.abstract | The study sought to establish the effect of taxpayer education on voluntary tax compliance,
among Small and Micro-Enterprises (SMEs) in Mwanza City- Tanzania. Specifically, the
study establishes the level of taxpayer education among SMEs, the level of voluntary tax
compliance among the SMEs and the effect of taxpayer education on the level of voluntary
tax compliance, among entrepreneurs in Mwanza City. A cross-sectional descriptive research
design was used. Both primary and secondary data were collected using a questionnaire. 85%
of the respondents, admitted to have gained understanding on the basic tax laws and
procedures, while 15% showed that there was no improvement in understanding the basic tax
laws. 78.7% of the respondents agreed that through the taxpayer education, they had been
able to understand and become aware of their taxpayer rights and obligations. 21.3% of the
respondents stated that taxpayer education, had not been able to help them in understanding
and becoming aware of their tax rights and obligations. 83% of the respondents agreed that
taxpayer education helped them in understanding clearly the procedure of paying taxes, while
17% claimed that despite the tax education they received, they did not understand clearly the
procedure of paying taxes. Responses from the staff indicated that 80% of the returns were
lodged timely, while the remaining 20% were not lodged within statutory periods and would
attract penalties and fines for late filling. Of the returns lodged 67% declared accurate tax
liability, while the remainder contained errors. Additional taxes were assessed through
auditing. 78% of those who were required to pay taxes, actually paid within the stipulated
time frame according to the law, while the remaining 22% were late in paying taxes, which
necessitated the use of enforcement strategies. It is thus recommended that taxation should be
taught at all levels of education, starting from primary schools upwards with an emphasis on
promoting voluntary tax compliance. | en_US |
