Gov’t to revise property tax rates – Lands minister

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government plans to revise the property tax rate. Judith Nabakooba, the Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development while officiating at the second Uganda Housing symposium organized by Habitat for Humanity in Kampala highlighted the need to revise the rates because the current rates are not friendly and affordable to all property owners.

Section 3(1) of the Local Government Rating Act (LGRA) 2006, provides that every local government shall levy such rates as it may determine on the basis of the rateable value of any property within its jurisdiction.

Property rate tax which is payable by owners of property within a local government jurisdiction is normally based on the assessment of reteable value determined by a valuation surveyor approved under the laws of Uganda. Property rates are among the major sources of taxes in the local governments.

Nabakooba revealed that currently, the country is collecting less than 40 percent of the tax and that many property owners are dodging the tax because of the unfriendly rates that are charged.

According to Nabakooba, the ministry is in talks with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) the Ministry of Finance, and the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to see to it that once the rates are revised they become favorable for the property owners.

According to the Local Government Act, local governments can charge a percentage not exceeding 12% of the taxable value of the property and a minimum of 2,000 shillings. The taxable value is 74% of the revenue generated by a property.

In Kampala, KCCA revised these rates in 2020 from 6 percent of the taxable value on commercial properties to 4 percent of the taxable value of properties generating five million and below and 6 percent for properties attracting revenue of five million shillings.

However, despite the action taken by the city authorities, several property owners in Kampala say the charges are still high.

During the Housing symposium, the minister said that in terms of housing, one of the key defining factors is to ensure effective policy that prioritizes and directs investment in the sector, application of technology, and deployment of resources towards responsive housing development.

Anthony Steven Okoth the National Director of Habitat for Humanity Kenya rallied Uganda to come up with policies that are aimed at providing affordable housing to bridge the housing gap and also use housing as a platform to improve unemployment among the youths.

He advised the government to leverage the private sector to manage the problem of housing deficit the country is grappling with.

The housing symposium was under the theme “Affordable Housing for Urban Informal Settlements as a Driver for Economic Growth”.

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