Unguja. The Zanzibar Revenue Authority (ZRA) has exceeded its revenue collection target for December 2025, achieving 100.39 percent of the projected amount.

According to a statement issued to the media on January 2, 2026, by ZRA’s Head of Public Relations and Customer Services, Makame Khamis Moh’d, the authority had projected to collect Sh90.524 billion but managed to raise Sh90.873 billion.

“The actual collections for December in the 2024/25 financial year were Sh75.583 billion. Compared to the same month in the current financial year 2025/26, this represents a growth of 20.23 percent,” the statement read.

For the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year (October–December 2025), ZRA had estimated Sh286.813 billion in revenue. Actual collections reached Sh273.772 billion, representing 95.45 percent efficiency against projections. Compared to the same period in 2024/25, which saw collections of Sh228.098 billion, this marks an increase of Sh45.67 billion, or a 20.02 percent growth.

Reasons for exceeding targets

ZRA attributed the strong performance to several factors, including the growth of economic activities between Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania, supported by sound policies and strong leadership that have created a favourable business environment.

“Significant investments in infrastructure and social services, combined with the growth of economic activities in Zanzibar driven by the implementation of the government’s sound economic policies, have contributed to this success,” the statement said.

Other factors cited include increased taxpayer awareness through education initiatives and higher voluntary compliance after citizens observed the positive outcomes of paying taxes.

The statement also highlighted the impact of the Tax Amnesty, which offered 100 percent penalty and interest waivers to taxpayers with long-standing debts, giving them a chance to restart their businesses without fear of enforcement. The amnesty ran from July to November 2025, though official figures from the programme are yet to be released.

“Improved cooperation between ministries and other institutions working with ZRA, including the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), as well as strengthened relationships with business operators, has boosted voluntary tax payments,” the statement added.

Plans for the next quarter

Looking ahead to the third quarter (January–March 2026), ZRA plans to accelerate the integration of all business systems with the Electronic Receipt Management System (VFMS).

The authority will also continue delivering tax services in business areas through mobile service units to make it easier for taxpayers to access services.

ZRA will carry out activities to promote voluntary compliance and take action against those who fail to meet their legal obligations.

Views from business and the public

Some business operators say government cooperation has improved, encouraging more businesses to pay taxes.

“Times are changing, and there is closer collaboration between business operators and the authorities. This has helped many businesses stop evading taxes,” said Khamis Ali Ali, a street-level trader.

However, some citizens say tax evasion remains widespread and that further compliance could lead to even higher revenue.

“Collections have increased, but I believe they could be much higher. Many traders still avoid paying taxes by failing to issue receipts,” said Jabir Mussa, a resident of Mombasa.

He added: “When buying goods, many traders fail to issue electronic receipts. Sometimes they claim there is no network or issue receipts with prices different from what you paid.”