Citizens' Trust in Government and Their Greater Willingness to Pay Taxes in Tanzania: A Case Study of Mtwara, Lindi, and Dar es Salaam Regions

Abstract

This article examines the citizens' trust in government and their willingness to pay taxes to improve public goods/services in Tanzania. Descriptive statistics show that 79.4 percent of the citizens trust the government. The findings show that a citizen's trust in government varies positively and significantly with the quality of public goods/services. An increase of one unit of public service delivery is associated with an increase in a citizen's trust in the government. A χ2 test shows a significant association between a citizen's trust in the government and willingness to pay more taxes for improved public services. About 91.3 percent of citizens were willing to pay more taxes if public services were improved. A higher level of citizens' trust in government and good quality of public service delivery encourage greater willingness to pay taxes in order to improve public services. Therefore, targeting public policies toward dissatisfied citizens is critical to making a stronger impact on trust in government.