Tax collection body surpasses Shs11.3 trillion target
Ministers, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries follow proceedings during the reading of the Budget at Kampala Serena Hotel yesterday. PHOTO BY ALEX ESAGALA.
Kampala- Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has overturned a shortfall of nearly Shs195 billion to hit the planned Shs11.3 trillion target.
Presenting the Budget speech yesterday, Buyanja County MP Matia Kasaija said the tax collector surpassed its collection targets a few weeks to close the 2015/16 revenue calendar.
“Madam Speaker, provisional outturn for domestic revenue for the Financial Year 2015/16 is Shs11.5 trillion.
This is higher than the planned target of Shs11.3 trillion. This is equivalent to 13.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product,” Mr Kasaija said.
GDP is the total economic activities in a country, normally measured annually or after a period of time.
The Shs11.5 trillion is accounted for as follows: provisional outturn for tax revenue is Shs11.1 trillion; non-tax revenue is Shs282 billion and oil capital gains tax revenue is Shs124 billion.
Worth noting is that the performance of non-tax revenue (NTR) remains low, accounting for only one to two per cent of total revenue collection, despite concerted reforms over the last five years.
NTR is mainly fees and other payments for government services charged by state-owned enterprises. All accounting officers charged with the responsibility of collecting levies and fees will be held accountable for collection and accountability of NTR in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act, 2015.
According to the Budget speech, measures to enhance capacity for tax administration will also be implemented. These include the completion of establishment of one-stop border posts at Malaba, Mutukula, Busia and Mirama Hills to facilitate faster and simplified clearance of goods at border posts.
New tax collection measures
“Next year, the Uganda National Single Window, which allows lodging standardised documents at a single point to fulfill all import, export and transit-related regulated requirements, will be fully operationalised,” reads the budget.
This, according to the Budget speech, will reduce the cost of doing business, create transparency in the supply chain and increase government revenue.
Additionally, Shs8 billion has been provided for implementation of the Taxpayer Registration Expansion Project to enhance coordination between institutions such as URA, the Uganda Registration Service Bureau, Kampala Capital City Authority and other local authorities.
The programme will help businesses formalise their operations through business licensing and registration.
URA budget has also been increased by Shs40 billion to rollout taxpayer education programmes to increase tax awareness, compliance and remedial mechanisms as well as cover other operational activities.
