Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has posted what it termed “the biggest tax collection in the country’s history”.
URA Commissioner General, John Rujoki Musinguzi, made the revelation on Friday during the URA Annual Revenue Mobilization Press Conference to track the highlights of the 2021/22 performance held at URA Tower in Nakawa, Kampala.
“An interim report indicates that in the last Financial Year 2021-22, URA collected UGX 21,659.44 billion -the biggest collection in the history of our country, Uganda. This performance was because of you the taxpayer,” Musinguzi said.
He revealed that revenue grew by 12.44 percent compared to collections for FY 2020/21, reflecting a nominal growth in revenue of UGX 2,396.44 billion.
Despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global economic crises, Ugandan taxpayers have maintained their determination to contribute their fair share of the revenue.
Domestic Taxes collected were UGX 13,664.65 Bn against a target of UGX 14,662.13 Bn, registering a deficit of UGX 997.48 Bn and a performance rate of 93.20%.
Taxpayers contributed UGX 1,520.64 Bn (12.52 %) more by way of domestic taxes compared to FY 2020/21.
The customs collections were UGX 8,434.36 Bn against a target of UGX 8,140.49 Bn, posting a surplus of UGX 294.63 Bn and registering a performance of 103.62%.
Traders contributed UGX 929.25 Bn more by way of Customs than they did during the last financial year.
“I must note that the revenue mobilization target for FY2022/23 stands at UGX 25.15 Tn,” he noted.
He added: “I must also echo the words of the Honorable Minister of Finance Hon Matia Kasaija and remind every Ugandan that the Government did not introduce any new taxes this Financial Year 2022/23 to foster speedy economic recovery.”
New focus
In this new fiscal year, he said, URA will focus is ensuring that we implement administrative and efficiency measures that will assist taxpayers in meeting their obligations “so that we can all work together to lift our country out of the shame of deficits and economic dependency”.
“We shall continue with the ongoing taxpayer register expansion and cleaning exercise while also promoting staff integrity, professionalism, and zero tolerance for corruption.”
According to Musinguzi, URA will focus on consolidating and refining the gains scored with the adoption of the key technologies such as EFRIS, The Digital Tracking Solution and The Rental Tax Mgt System, all aimed at improving business efficiencies to combat revenue leakage.
He said the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System and The Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology would be enhanced and fully integrated with our Central IT systems for effective trade facilitation and improved transparency.
URA will also roll out an intensive taxpayer education program, improve service delivery, and promote transparency.
“To increase the accessibility of our services, URA will continue to utilize mobile tax services in areas where we do not have a physical office. The Tujenge Uganda Bus has done tremendously well on the register expansion front.”
The second Mobile Tax Office |Tujenge Uganda Bus is going to be activated earlier this Financial Year. The midterm plan is to have four buses, and one mobile tax office per region in order to bring services closer to the people.
“URA continues to advocate for faster tax dispute resolution through the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) platform. We believe it is a win-win for the tax authority and the taxpayer, saving both parties legal costs and time,” Musinguzi pointed out, adding:
“I particularly want to wholeheartedly thank all our valued taxpayers for meeting their tax obligations, despite setbacks caused by the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war’s economic meltdown.”
He lauded taxpayers for demonstrating resilience, patriotism and commitment to fulfilling their civic duty of paying taxes.