The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Revenue Authority-URA is on the spot for not providing adequate information on tax matters to members of the public.
At the tax appreciation show at Kololo on Thursday, taxpayers told URA that they were not receiving enough education on their tax matters to help them meet their tax obligations.
Faridah Rwakabi, a trader from Lwakhakha on the border between Uganda and Kenya, said they had not seen any URA official in their community to help them understand tax matters.
She said she lives in a community where they export produce to Kenya and import other goods to Uganda but they have often been made to pay for what they don’t understand at the border.
The tax appreciation week is meant to help taxpayers ask all the questions about their tax obligations. It is also meant to give space to businesses that have been paying taxes to show the products they are producing.
Esther Zalwango from Jingo auto plus said their company had paid taxes since 2000 but they were surprised when URA officials came up with an assessment that showed the company had not been paying and they were asked to pay 5 billion shillings.
This, she said, meant that the tax body had not updated their online system to reflect up-to-date information on the taxpayers. She said URA didn’t offer enough explanation on the significance of explanation.
She said that even when they supplied information, a URA official told them to still keep the hard copies of their tax details because another official might come up and ask them to pay.
Vincent Seruma, the URA assistant commissioner for corporate affairs, said the issue of awareness was pertinent and the tax body was planning on a massive reach-out programme to the citizens.
James Kisaale, the URA acting commissioner for customs, said for URA has tried to publish all the information so that people can read all the details on incentives and other tax obligations.
Moses Owiny, an ordinary taxpayer, said he had concerns with the way auctioning of vehicles by URA is handled. He said it was not transparent and the tax body needed to look into it.
Others said many companies calling for bids for contracts were asking people to non-refundable fees in the region of 100,000 to 500,000 shillings claiming it was going to URA.
The tax body said it was not responsible for bidding issues and it doesn’t ask for that money.
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