The URA Commissioner General, John Musinguzi explained that URA will waive the two tax expenditures in form of exemptions, allowances rate reliefs, credits, and deferrals.
Documents before the Finance Committee indicate Agro-processing, charitable organizations, commerce and industry, farming association, SACCOs, tourism associations, trade unions, exporters of 80 percent of products, education public character, and others as some of the categories are benefiting from tax exemptions.
Milly Isingoma Nalukwago, the Assistant Commissioner Research, Planning and Development URA, the study will seek to assess the impact of tax exemption which will inform policy formulation.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija is expected to announce the removal of the 18 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on all the tools used in the garden when he reads the 2020-2021 financial year budget on Thursday. The tools include hay mowers, slashers, rakes and tedders.
During a press conference held on Sunday, Julius Mukunda, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) said the failure by Uganda Revenue Authority-URA even with recent innovations in tax administration to hit their collections is partly due to tax incentives that are harmful to the economy.
The Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) says harmful tax exemptions cost the tax payer over 1.4 trillion shillings during the 2017/18 financial year.
In its report, the Finance committee of Parliament that was scrutinizing the bill recommended that Parliament approves the proposal to write off the billions of shillings in tax arrears.
The State Minister for Finance David Bahati has told parliament that his ministry will study a proposal for exemption of broadcast equipment for future consideration.
Sylvester Ndiroramukama, the Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Co-operative Savings and Credit Union Limited appealed to MPs to uphold an earlier decision by parliament to exempt SACCOs from taxation. He says the reversal of the exemption is retrogressive and will disrupt operations of the SACCOs and the financial system.
Akol says the Authority will focus on rental tax collection. According to Akol, there are many people making money, which isnt captured.She says that they will work with other companies like National Water and Sewerage Company and Umeme to truck down records of landlords.
Francois Rafin, who will steer Total E&P Uganda's operations in the Lake Albert basin for the production stage says tax exemptions on investments in the oil sector at least before production starts.
Today, amidst talk of Members of Parliament reversing some of the proposals made by the finance minister, officials from Uganda Revenue Authority and Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development, explained why some exemptions had to be removed.
The zero-tax on the imported raw materials was deemed as an incentive to Ugandan manufacturers who produced for export within the community, but were required to pay export taxes. It was also supposed to boost the growth of the country’s infant manufacturing industry.
With the next financial year just three weeks away, a Makerere University don has advised that the best the government can do to boost the flagging economy is to stop dishing out investment incentives and tax exemptions and encourage production.
Uganda loses up to 690 billion shillings in tax exemptions to multinational corporations and investors annually, according to a new study by the Action Aid Uganda and Tax Justice Network.
