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How proposed land tax will affect you
Dr Kizza Besigye (left) with Mr Godfrey Katusiime (right), the caretaker of the politician’s land in Sunga, Kyankwanzi District . Government is set to introduce new land tax. PHOTO /FILE
What you need to know:
- Among beneficiaries of the proposed land tax are those dealing in the land as trading stock.
In Mukono District lies a virgin piece of land belonging to Ms Sheila Musoke, a 48-year- old lawyer and mother of two.
Being landlord, Ms Musoke picked interest in the new Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022, where the government is moving to amend Section 118B of the principal Act, which relates to withholding of tax by the purchaser of an asset by introducing sub-section 3.
Ms Musoke told Monitor yesterday that land being a sensitive issue in the country, she wants to keep abreast with all the new tax proposals on land transactions.
“I got hold of the Bill and read it thoroughly,” she revealed.
“I have in the past faced challenges when engaging in land transactions, so, it taught me to follow debates on land to avoid being taken for granted,” she added.
In the near future, Ms Musoke plans to either invest in the land or sell it off for monetary gains.
Under the proposed Bill, any person selling land, house or any piece of property or equipment purchased exclusively or primarily for business use will be required to pay tax if Parliament approves the proposed tax measures.
The new sub-section (if amended) will read as follows: For the purposes of this section, “business asset” means land, whether the whole or any part of the land, which is used or held for use in any business except land held as a trading stock and includes—(a) Land that is used in business to generate income other than land of an individual that is subject to rental tax; and (b) Land owned by a company, trust or partnership.
Mr Gerald Namoma, a senior economist at the tax policy department, Finance Ministry, told this publication yesterday that the Bill is simply making less confusion of the definition of business assets so as to limit occurrence of problems including administrative issues.
“Therefore, this definition in the Bill is trying to clarify what a business asset is and it is good for business and the economy because people would then know what kind of land is out of the scope of tax,” Mr Namoma said.
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Beneficiaries
Meanwhile, Mr Gerald Ssebandeke, a tax advisor at Ligomarc Advocates, said there are two categories of people going to benefit from the proposed law.
The first category of beneficiaries includes those dealing in the land as trading stock.
“This means that if an individual is going to sell you land at Shs10 million, the purchaser will get all this amount of money,” Mr Ssebandeke said.
“Under the current law, land being sold is subjected to a withholding tax of 6 per cent, which eats into one’s cash flow. In the current proposal, it means that one will get all the Shs10 million because the tax will be excluded,” he added.
Ssebandeke further notes: “That the only tax that will then be paid by the purchaser for this particular land is stamp duty and it is paid upon transfer of land title names.”
Stamp duty is charged on a number of transactions including land at varying rates.
Other beneficiaries of this proposed law are individuals whose land is subject to rental tax.
“For example, if I have my land and I am renting it out to someone to use it for farming, what I am earning is rental income and it is what is subject to rental tax. So, if I happen to sell off this land, it means I am supposed to receive all the money without withholding anything,” Mr Ssebandeke said.
The State Minister (General Duties Finance), Mr Henry Musasizi, tabled the Income Tax (Amendments) Bill, 2022 and other eight bills on March 31 before getting referred to Parliament’s Finance Committee for scrutiny.
