The Office of the Tax Ombudsman and the Protection of the Rights of Tax Payers: An Appraisal

The Parliament of Tanzania on 13th June 2019 passed the Finance Act 2019 which came into force on 1st July 2019. The Act amended the Tax Administration Act, Cap 438 of 2019, R.E. 2023, to establish an office known as the Tax Ombudsman Service. This Office is established within the Ministry of Finance and Planning. As an organ of state, it has a responsibility to uphold, defend, and advance the legal rights that taxpayers are granted. The Tax Ombudsman is endowed with only those powers and duties granted by law because it is a creation of statute. The Tax Ombudsman has shortcomings under the current tax laws that may undermine its ability to effectively protect the rights of taxpayers. These include the fact that the Tax Ombudsman Service office can only offer a decision made by the minister after submitting its findings and recommendations and that the powers and duties of the Tax Ombudsman are very limited. Since the office is still in its infancy, it is unclear how effective it is in defending rights; this will only become clear over time. However, more power of the kind suggested in this article must be granted to the Tax Ombudsman Service in order to secure its role as a custodian of rights.