URA adds 150,000 new taxpayers on register
Mr John R. Musinguzi. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- According to Uganda Revenue Authority, during the period between July and September, the tax register grew by 5.65 percent
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) registered at least 147,892 new taxpayers between July and September, according to URA Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi.
The addition, represents a 5.65 percent growth in the taxpayer register, which pushed the number of taxpayers to 2,765,900, of which, 174,020 were non-individuals while 2,591,880 were individuals.
The improved tax registered, Mr Musinguzi said, was due to sustained tax education, taxpayer register expansion programme, data analysis from third-parties, stakeholder engagements and outreach programme as government seeks to increase the tax to gross domestic product ratio by 0.5 percent annually.
URA has previously indicated that a number of Ugandans do not contribute to the tax envelope, yet many of them have income generating activities.
During the period, URA said it had registered a Shs286b surplus, collecting slightly more than Sh5.4 trillion against a target of Shs5.1 trillion.
The performance, Mr Musinguzi said, was driven by wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, and manufacturing, which registered the highest growth of Sh241b and Shs212.65b respectively.
Arts, entertainment and recreation returned a percentage growth of 138.36 per cent, registering the highest growth, thereby contributing Shs26b while accommodation and food services and construction contributed Shs30.07b and Shs61b, respectively.
However, the biggest decline was observed in mining and quarrying, whose contribution stood at Shs14.99b.
URA is expected to have attained a collection target of Shs25.5 trillion by the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
