URA in push to boost tax education with new regional centres
URA says specialised tax centres will foster an understanding of taxes and related systems. Photo / Courtesy
What you need to know:
- URA says similar centres will be opened in Gulu, Mbale, Masaka, and Mbarara to offer TIN registration, support tax education, tech adoption, return filing guidance and resolve tax queries from traders, among others
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) plans to open four centres in different parts of the country to foster an understanding of taxes and related systems.
Speaking at the opening of a specialised taxpayer service center in Kikuubo, Kampala, URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi, said similar centres will be opened in Gulu, Mbale, Masaka, and Mbarara to offer TIN registration, support tax education, tech adoption, return filing guidance and resolve tax queries from traders, among others.
The move comes after traders in Kampala faced off with URA over implementation of tax systems, such as the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS), which many traders indicated they lacked a proper understanding.
In April, traders twice closed their shops, protesting the manner in which URA was implementing EFRIS, a digital tax system that applies on value-added tax-related products.
The double protests cost government more than Shs70b in uncollected revenue, according to the May Ministry of Finance Performance of the Economy report, as well as reversal of several EFRIS-related penalties that URA had imposed on different traders.
Many Ugandans had, during the time, blamed URA for implementing a tax that many of its stakeholders did not understand.
Speaking at the launch of the specialised taxpayer service center in Kikuubo, Mr Musinguzi, said this was part of the larger plan to reach out and get closer to taxpayers.
“We have come up with a plan to open taxpayer support centers in key areas. More importantly, we will also be able to educate and handhold every trader through different tax-related matters,” he said, noting that this had come after the realisation of the need to fill a substantial knowledge gap among traders.
URA has digitized several tax components in the last five years as a measure to close tax leakages and expand the tax base.
Digital tax stamps, EFRIS, and digitised rental income tax systems are ways several taxes have been digitised.
However, several stakeholders have indicated the need to close the knowledge gap that has left many traders and companies paying penalties as they struggle to adapt to the shift from paper-based to technologically driven systems.
