• Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Login
Watchdog Uganda
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
Watchdog Uganda
No Result
View All Result

Taxes paid by Ugandans are Inadequate to Drive Significant Country Development, says URA chief

Stephen Kalema by Stephen Kalema
1 year ago
in Business, Finance
50 3
URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi

URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi

ShareTweetSendShare

In the course of conversations over Uganda’s budget, the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), John Musinguzi has offered a noteworthy viewpoint. The head of URA, who emphasises the importance of taxes in national development, argues that Ugandans’ existing tax contributions might not be sufficient to support significant national advancement.

While speaking on UBC TV on Wednesday night, he confirmed that it’s very hard for Ugandans to realise the country developing from their taxes becuse most of the taxes collected go to debt servicing.

“Where we are as a nation, is a very defining moment, that’s why we want to engage with everybody coming on the board. We must know that the foreign support that we have been getting by way of donations and loans is diminishing because of the reasons we all understand. Secondly, our tax GDP is at the bottom 14 per cent below the average for Sub-Sahara Africa which is 16 per cent,” he said.

He added, “Most of the monies we collect go to debt servicing! How can we develop? There is no country which can develop when they are collecting less than 20 per cent of their GDP. The tax burden for Uganda is 11.7 per cent and in the ranking of the world Uganda is at 140 out of 172 countries so it is very clear that whatever we are contributing as tax is small and can not foster development not make us economically independent!”

According to Musinguzi, at the moment when traders are on strike due to Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions, the issue must be focused on engagement and see how everybody is accommodated. “The subject to engage on and discuss is how can we engage everybody that is playing a role in this paying their fairs of tax. Engagements with citizens, academia, and leaders will give us the right answers and that’s how we can build our country Uganda but demonstrations, threats and strikes will not work.”

Understanding your tax

One of the taxes that have made rounds in the ongoing strike is the VAT (Value Added Tax) which has been in existence since 1997 and is an indirect tax but very few Ugandans understand how it works. VAT is paid by a consumer because it’s a consumption tax and the threshold is about Shs150m per year. On average the trader needs to make sales of Shs110,000 per day.

Even though the threshold is low, out of over 46 million Ugandans only 33000 taxpayers are registered for VAT, which clearly shows that the degree of voluntary compliance by Ugandans is low. Out of an active population of about 10 million people engaged in businesses, or earning only 33000 Ugandans pay VAT. This also shows a very big of knowledge about the taxing system in the country.

As a way of sorting out challenges of low voluntary compliance, tech like Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) was introduced in 2019, to help traders run their businesses well without the scepticism of being overassessed by URA, secondly, this fully flagged accounting software will also help URA to declare the trader’s actual stocks since in most cases traders have been under-declaring their stocks to URA.

Meanwhile an Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution. EFRIS entails the use of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs), e-invoicing, or direct communication with business transaction systems to manage the issuance of e-receipts and e-invoices under the Tax Procedures Code Act 2014.



Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
Share10Tweet7SendShare

Related Posts

Maama Janet and President Museveni visited Mrs. Fausta Nalweyiso on Monday in Kibumbiro, Busega. The President praised her dedication to the Parish Development Model through her piggery project which he found very impressive.
Agriculture

MIKE SSEGAWA: Museveni’s PDM Tour; A Journey of Connection and Transformation

14th July 2025 at 22:49
Joshua Kato
Business

JOSHUA KATO: Tax Amnesty re-introduced – A timely opportunity for businesses

10th July 2025 at 09:47
Business

Is Artificial Intelligence Beneficial or Detrimental?

10th July 2025 at 00:17
Next Post
Kikuubo business hub

City traders’ woes: URA to open downtown office

  • Prostitution in Uganda- Courtesy Photo

    10 dangerous hotspots known for prostitutes in Kampala

    1135 shares
    Share 454 Tweet 284
  • Silent Billionaire Bosco Muwonge Buys Mukwano Arcade at UGX 250 Billion Cash Down

    56 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14
  • Who is Bosco Muwonge, Uganda’s elusive real estate billionaire?

    41 shares
    Share 16 Tweet 10
  • LIST: New salary structure for civil servants starting July 2020 out; scientists, lecturers get juicy pay rise

    2291 shares
    Share 916 Tweet 573
  • Uganda’s Billionaires 2025: Once Again Sudhir Ruparelia Leads a Resilient Pack

    51 shares
    Share 20 Tweet 13
Facebook Twitter

Contact Information

Watchdog Uganda is a portal for solution journalism, trending news plus cutting edge commentaries in the fields of politics, security, business, tourism, entertainment, technology, agriculture, climate change, environment, public health et al. We also give preference to Ugandan community news and topical discussions. The portal also publishes community news and topical discussions.

Email: editorial@watchdoguganda.com
To Advertise:Click here

Latest News

Maama Janet and President Museveni visited Mrs. Fausta Nalweyiso on Monday in Kibumbiro, Busega. The President praised her dedication to the Parish Development Model through her piggery project which he found very impressive.

MIKE SSEGAWA: Museveni’s PDM Tour; A Journey of Connection and Transformation

14th July 2025 at 22:49
Mashable is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company For more queries and news contact us on this Email: info@mashablepartners.com

Check out

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Minister Muruli Mukasa

LIST: New salary structure for civil servants starting July 2020 out; scientists, lecturers get juicy pay rise

24th May 2020 at 10:45
Pregnant woman

Shock as 17-year old boy impregnates his two sisters during Covid-19 lockdown 

17th June 2020 at 08:17
Sudhir Ruparelia is the undisputed king of Kampala

Billionaire Sudhir’s wisdom on how to invest in real estate

0

How a boy’s destiny turned from cotton grower to communications guru

0
Maama Janet and President Museveni visited Mrs. Fausta Nalweyiso on Monday in Kibumbiro, Busega. The President praised her dedication to the Parish Development Model through her piggery project which he found very impressive.

MIKE SSEGAWA: Museveni’s PDM Tour; A Journey of Connection and Transformation

14th July 2025 at 22:49

Justice George Kanyeihamba Passes Away at 85, Leaving a Lasting Legacy in Uganda

14th July 2025 at 09:39

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda