Uganda Revenue Authority promises to stop locking tax defaulters’ premises
In the next financial year 2023/24, Uganda Revenue Authority is expected to collect 29.7 trillion shillings as revenue, which is about 56% of the National budget.
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has pledged to reduce its actions that make taxpayers uncomfortable. The tax body is in the habit of issuing agency notices and locking up the premises of tax defaulters.
URA said locking up these premises doesn’t imply that they have deviated from the law and their mandate but would like to use these alternatives only when they must.
Johnson Musinguzi, the Commissioner General of URA, explained that this is done to simplify their experience with taxpayers.
“Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, the journey ahead of us is steep. We have full confidence in you. We also have dedicated ourselves to measure up to the task and hence the need for this engagement.” he said.
In the last three years, the Authority recovered 1.5 million taxpayers who had never paid taxes.
Musinguzi noted that their task at URA is to bring in more contributors to the tax bracket ‘so that they can distribute the tax burden across a bigger section of the country.’
He said, “Government has deliberately restrained from increasing the tax rates to facilitate businesses to recover from the impact of COVID-19. In the last three years, URA has been able to identify 1.5 new taxpayers and we have increased our numbers from 1.7 to 3.2 today.”
The Minister of State for General Duties, Henry Musasizi, applauded the Authority for the reforms that have improved revenue collection and for undertaking efforts to fight corruption.
He said economic growth is projected to reach 6% & average7% over the medium-term next financial year.
The minister said, “Headline inflation reduced to 8% last month and it is expected to further decline this month. This implies that the cost of living will soon reduce back to pre-pandemic levels affordable by a median Uganda.”
In his remarks, the MP for Kampala Central, Mohammed Nsereko, called upon Uganda Revenue Authority and taxpayers to work towards improved rapport if the nation is to boost revenue growth.
“It’s our civic duty to pay taxes, let’s lend the taxman our trust and carry our cross of compliance,” Nsereko said.
In the next financial year 2023/24, Uganda Revenue Authority is expected to collect 29.7 trillion shillings as revenue, which is about 56% of the National budget.
These are views exchanged during the Post Budget Dialogue organized by URA at Hotel Africana. The business community and URA interacted on ways to harmonize tax payment and collection.
