Q&A – 4 March 2013
Husband utters girlfriends name during dream
I have been married for about 12 years now and for the past 3 years have been suspecting that my husband has been having an affair with a certain lady that he used to work with before. It has been hard to prove this and he has always denied this. Few weeks ago, whilst very tired and having come back from a trip overseas, my husband said the ladies name atleast three times in his sleep. I want to file for divorce. What should I do?
UT, Dar
The grounds for divorce inter alia are cruelty and adultery that result in the marriage breaking down irreparably. You suspect your husband of having an affair but merely by stating a woman’s name during a dream is unlikely going to prove adultery. Dreams are dreams- sometimes you dream of dying, sometimes of having an accident, and sometimes of ghosts. Most dreams are not true, atleast that’s what we believe.
You might want to give him the benefit of doubt and discuss this with a marriage counselor. Either way, in preparation for a potential divorce, which is what you seem to want, you may want to consult your lawyers.
Breach of contract in hair supply
There is a wig maker who has come to town making wigs for the young and the old. When at my hairdressers, I was approached by him and he promised to pay me some amount if I gave him my hair. After three cuts, he has refused to pay me anything saying that I would have let the hair go anyways. What should I do? I am told the fellow is a witch doctor and I should stay away from him.
JI, Dar
This is a breach of the wigmakers covenant to pay you under the contract. The fact that you were going to throw the hair away anyways, which is probably true, does not change the fact that you have not been paid under the contract.
It is unlikely that you have a written contract but under our laws an oral contract is also allowed. Should you decide to sue him, whoever heard you and him enter into this contract, can be brought as a witness to Court to testify. Your lawyers can perhaps start by sending a demand note to him before taking the matter to Court. You will have to do a cost benefit analysis in terms of your outgoings and the potential amount you may get before rushing this to Court.
As for the wig maker being a witch doctor, we are unable to comment. Practicing witchcraft in Tanzania is an offence and you can report him to the police.
Waiver of taxes
When I started my industry in Tanzania, the Ministry of Industry and trade gave us a letter that in view of the massive investment we were doing, we would be exempted from paying income tax for the first 3 years. We have the original letter but the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) does not accept it claiming that it does not recognize the exemption. What should I do? Why don’t the various organs in Tanzania coordinate such operations amongst themselves? In the interim TRA is forcing me to pay the taxes- how do I handle this?
IP, Mwanza
The TRA are correct in their interpretation of the law. Section 10 of the Income Tax Act clearly states that (1) The Minister of Finance may, by order in the Gazette, provide – (a) that any income or class of incomes accrued in or derived from the United Republic shall be exempt from tax to the extent specified in such order; or (b) that any exemption under the Second Schedule shall cease to have effect either generally or to such extent as may be specified in such Order. (2) The Minister may, by Order in the Gazette, amend, vary or replace the Second Schedule. (3) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no exemption shall be provided from tax imposed by this Act and no agreement shall be concluded that affects or purports to affect the application of this Act, except as provided for by this Act or by way of amendment to this Act.
From the above, it is clear that it is the Minister of Finance who grants the exemptions and not any other Ministry, and such exemption must be gazetted before coming into force. The letter you have from the Ministry of Industry and Trade is neither grantable by it nor has it been gazetted. Hence it might be treated as a recommendation for an exemption to be granted but it does not stand as an exemption on its own.
We request you either to contact the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and/or the Tanzania Investment Centre to formalize your letter into an exemption. Much as you don’t want to hear this, you cannot blame the TRA for its opinion as their interpretation is correct.
We agree with you that in the interest of streamlining processes, it would have been better for the Ministries and TRA to coordinate this for you- however this may take longer than if you personally follow this up.
In response to TRA forcing you to pay taxes, since there is no exemption in place, the tax is indeed payable. However if you can quickly get the Ministry for Industry and Trade to intervene and inform TRA of the process for the formalization of the exemption, TRA may delay the collection of such taxes. TRA may however not agree to this and if you end up paying the taxes, upon being granted the exemption, the taxes paid may be credited or refunded.