Furthermore, many councils have experienced huge problems in collecting crop
cess from the co-operative unions. Our interviews with district and union officials
in Kibaha and Kilosa revealed that co-operative unions often were reluctant to pay
cess owed to the council. In 1995, for instance, the Mlandizi Disunyara Cooperative
Union in Kibaha DC was brought to court for not paying the cashew nut
cess, and thereby forced to pay the taxes it owed. In June 1997 Kilosa DC was
preparing a court case against the sugar company due to large arrears in cess
remission.29 Similar cases have been reported from other councils. For instance,
ERB (1997) reports that in 1995 the co-operative union SHIRECU owed Maswa
DC TSh 50 million in crop cess (an amount equivalent to more than 50 per cent of
the council’s total tax revenues the same year). SHIRECU also owed Meatu DC
TSh 33 million (equivalent to 34 per cent of the council’s tax revenues). In that
year, various companies owed Meatu DC TSh 60 million in unremitted crop cess
(equivalent to more than 60 per cent of its reported tax revenues).