URA rallies Kasese business community on voluntary tax disclosure

Kasese, Uganda | THE NDEPENDENT | The Uganda Revenue Authority-URA is rallying the business community in Kasese to utilize the voluntary tax disclosure program in order to meet their target obligations.

Under the Voluntary Disclosure process, a taxpayer discloses information relating to tax liabilities, omissions, or misstatements and declarations to Uganda Revenue Authority-URA without being penalized.

The disclosure also covers persons engaged in income-generating activities who are not yet registered or whose registration details are inaccurate.

Julius Nandeba, the URA team leader in Kasese district says that they are encouraging voluntary disclosure to enable the taxpayer to return to fully compliant status with respect to legal obligations.

He says their finding indicates that many people get tax Identification Numbers-TIN but they never comply with paying their taxes and these need to be brought back on board without penalizing them.

Nandeba noted that due to tax non-compliance, the authority is finding it difficult to realize its targets and this directly has an impact on the national budget and the local service delivery.

He observed that they are now rolling out community sensitization programs with the purpose of giving knowledge on how taxes can be paid and the value of the practice.

Leopold Bwambale, a fisherman in Katwe however criticizes URA for failing to give lessons to taxpayers so that they can have knowledge on taxation. He notes that the local business persons have a lot of questions regarding taxes and because they lack someone to address them, they opt to default.

Elly Asiimwe from Muhokya Town Council blames tax non-compliance on political interference noting that often political leaders discourage people from paying certain taxes to win political favors.

He wants URA to fully involve leaders to ensure they support tax compliance.

Scovia Biira, says many people have had their businesses close especially during the Covid-19 pandemic while others lost employment and these had never been guided on what to do with their TIN. She wants URA to keep engaging the local communities on tax matters.

The Tax Procedures Code Act provides preferential treatment for taxpayers who make a voluntary disclosure of non-compliance with tax laws.

According to URA records, there are 38,000 people with TIN in Kasese district.

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