CSOs, MPs discuss ways of widening Uganda’s tax base

By Kiyimba Bruno
Kiyimba.bruno@gmail.com

It was a hot debate as Civil Societies squeezed various members of Parliament on the best measures of how Uganda can widen its tax base.

The debate was at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) hall Lugogo.

Organized by the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), various members were put on the panel to discuss what should be done.

In his debate, Lugazi Municipality MP Isaac Mulindwa felt that 50% of the Ugandans are already in the middle income status, something that many of his fellow MPs opposed to.

In his argument, Mulindwa said that on the basis of the families in Uganda, 95% can eat meat every week, something that used not to happen in the past years.

He continued to explain that the daily consumption of meat signifies the high percentage of cows and goats that Uganda has, since these are slaughtered on a daily basis.

On the other hand, Mulindwa shocked people during the discussion when he said that every Ugandan can now earn a minimum of shs300,000 monthly.

Meanwhile, Mukono South Member of Parliament Muyanja Senyonga blamed government for the country’s low tax

“Who audits the Auditor General?” asked Muyanja.

He continued to say that with the ongoing debt that the government keeps on collecting, many Ugandans are enslaved to paying the debts which are after all not borrowed in the country’s currency.

In the same discussion, Richard Sempala said that Uganda has more than 60% of its population poor implying that there is no way it can meet building a middle income distribution of wealth.

Since 1990s, Uganda has undertaken a number of reforms geared towards broadening the tax base and increasing domestic revenue collection which has helped it to register a significant increase in the domestic revenue collections.