'Tour operators seek JPM’s intervention over disputed new VAT charge

According to Willy Chambullo, founder and managing director of the Kibo Guides tour operating company in Arusha, the office of the president has yet to respond to the letter sent last week.
"We have our fingers crossed (on whether he will honour the audience or not) as we seek to know what vision President Magufuli has for local tourism," Chambullo told The Guardian.
He said the tour operators had no problem with the new VAT charge per se, but were not happy with the government's decision to introduce it on what he referred to as “very short notice”.
The operators are worried that they may well have to start compensating clients who paid for safari packages before the new tax was announced, he explained.
"Tourists have something we call consumer protection, and because of that, we will be the ones who have to pay them because of the abrupt and rushed introduction of the new tax," added Chambullo.
He opined that such levies could end up crippling the potentially lucrative sector for the country's economy.

But even as the tour operators reached out to the highest office in the land, tourism minister Prof Jumanne Maghembe reiterated this week that the government will not reverse its decision to slap VAT on tourism services from this month.
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian on Tuesday this week, Prof Maghembe maintained that the tour operators will have to comply with the new tax despite any misgivings they may have.
He said the government was willing to sit down with the operators and discuss the issue, but not with a view to changing anything.
"We are ready to dialogue with the tour operators and I have instructed the permanent secretary to set a date for that. But let it be known to them that we will stick to our guns," the minister asserted.
He also called for a halt to the spreading of unconfirmed reports that tourists now prefer Kenya and South Africa over Tanzania as their safari destinations.
"It is not true that tourists are now choosing our competitors over us. I have recently visited the Serengeti and Katavi (game parks) and saw for myself long queues of tourist vehicles waiting to enter the parks," Prof Maghembe said.
Meanwhile, according to the minister, the government’s decision to award the controversial Green Mile Safari company a hunting permit at the expense of the US-based Wengert Windrose Safaris was legitimate.
He further revealed that the people seen in a controversial 2014 hunting video showing shocking animal abuse that later went viral were on the verge of being arrested.
Last week, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) urged the government to revoke Green Mile Safari’s hunting license after learning that the company was allegedly responsible for the shocking video.
“We cannot speculate about the motivation behind the awarding of the hunting license, but we call for the decision to be revoked on animal welfare grounds alone,” said Ian Robinson, a senior IFAW official, on the organization’s website.
Allowing Green Mile Safari back into the country was a massive leap backwards, according to Robinson, who called on Tanzania to take a stand and revoke the license.