Electronic Payment and Revenue Collection in Local Government Authorities in Tanzania: Evidence from Kinondoni Municipality

Abstract

This paper examines the role of e-payment on revenue collection in Kinondoni Municipal, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A semi-structured questionnaire was distributed to revenue collectors and administrators using simple random sampling procedure; obtaining a total of 77 respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. The findings revealed that most of the respondents admitted that e-payment influences revenue collection by enabling the Municipal increase tax compliance. It was further revealed that e-payment can provide additional competitive edge in monitoring revenue sources, and improving the quality of financial reporting. Furthermore, the findings revealed a positive linear relationship between e-payment and revenue collection in terms of tax compliance, monitoring of revenue sources, and financial reporting. The study indicated that all e-payment modes are aligned with tax compliance. Apart from positive achievements of e-payment, poor connectivity, limited awareness, lack of technical assistance, poor experience of the technology by tax collectors, and unreliable power supply were considered as challenges in implementing e-payment system. Thus, to hasten the use of e-payment system in revenue collection, it is crucial to address the identified challenges and conduct training to all tax collectors and tax payers. Also, the geographical information system (GIS) should be integrated in the e-payment system to automate the process of allocating revenue sources.

Keywords: electronic payment, revenue collection, local government in Tanzania