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Fort Portal landlords decry high property tax
Mr Edison Asaba Ruyonga, the Mayor of Fort Portal City addressing the property owners at Nyaika Hotel in Fort Portal City. PHOTO/ALEX ASHABA
What you need to know:
- Property owners with disabilities (PWDs) have also joined the call for tax relief
Residents and landlords in Fort Portal City in western Uganda have decried what they described as prohibitively high property tax amid challenging economic conditions affecting their businesses.
The landlords are concerned about the lack of a uniform fee structure for property tax, calling for reevaluation of the rates to ensure fairness and affordability, particularly in the face of economic challenges. They asked the city authorities to harmonise the rates to ensure that the tax burden is distributed more fairly among all property owners.
Mr Jackson Kasiime, one of the landlords in Kasusu cell in Fort Portal City said his property was recently reevaluated resulting in a significant increase in his tax liability.
"Previously, I would pay Shs 170,000 but to my surprise, this time I received a receipt requiring me to pay Shs700,000 for the same property. I am left wondering which method was used to value my property. Is the government being fair to us, or is it pushing us out of business?" he wondered during an engagement meeting between property owners and Fort Portal City authorities at Nyaika Hotel. The gathering was organized by RippleNami, a non-governmental organization as part of the Service and Fair Tax for Property Owners project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Notably, property owners with disabilities (PWDs) have also joined the call for tax relief. They appealed to the city leadership to exempt them from paying property taxes, citing their financial vulnerability.
Mr Kamurasi Badru Muhammed, a PWD residing in the city argued that because they lack adequate financial support, property taxes place an undue burden on their vulnerable group.
"In the real estate industry, we are vulnerable. Our appeal to the government is that we should be exempted from paying such tax. This would not only motivate others in our category to invest more in real estate but also encourage property owners to construct buildings that are accessible to PWDs," he stated.
The city mayor, Mr Edison Asaba Ruyonga, explained that Fort Portal currently charges a five percent property tax, which is lower than the rates imposed in other cities where he argued property owners may pay up to 10 percent of their property's value.
According to him, property tax is crucial for funding essential city services such as garbage collection and town beautification. However, he acknowledged that some property owners evade taxes, and some properties are not properly evaluated due to collusion between tax collectors and property owners.
To address these issues, he said the city has introduced a digital system that enables property owners to make tax payments through banks, hoping the digital tool is expected to reduce opportunities for collusion and increase transparency in the tax collection process.
