The Revenues and Customs Authority of Ethiopia is to conduct the second phase of the business survey to register more taxpayers in Addis Ababa. The tax authority will begin the survey as soon as it receives a go ahead from the City Administration according to officials. 
ERCA plans to survey 23,000 businesses in Addis Ababa in the second phase of the survey expected to commence in two weeks.
Tax officials have been preparing programs and training agents to undertake the survey over the last few weeks.The first phase of the survey, conducted on 95,000 businesses in November of 2010, identified 9000 business that were not known to the tax authorities, 36,000 businesses needing to put in place cash register machines and 11,000 more taxpayers that were required to apply the Value-Added Tax.
ERCA was able to raise 1.6 billion birr from Addis Ababa in the first quarter of the financial year due to the findings of the first survey.
It is to be remembered that the subjective nature of the first survey was contested by some businesses required to upgrade their tax status.
The problems seen in the last survey will not be replicated by the second phase of the survey according to a senior official at ERCA.
The tax authority expects to graduate agents trained in how to conduct a market survey on the 3rd of February.
The survey to be conducted in all districts of the city will concentrate on Bole, Addis Ketema and Kolfe Keranio sub-cities according to sources.
Source: Addis Fortune
