Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki (R), with Miracle Centre Cathedral – Rubaga lead Pastor, Robert Kayanja at a Prophetic Resurrection Service hosted by the tax body April 29, 2022 in Kampala.
Commissioner General of Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) John Musinguzi Rujoki has said the mission to deliver Uganda from economic dependence is impossible without God’s guidance and involvement.
Mr Musinguzi made the remarks Friday (April 29) following a Prophetic Resurrection Service where the tax body hosted Miracle Centre Cathedral – Rubaga lead Pastor, Robert Kayanja to pray for the country.
Pastor Kayanja urged the management of Uganda Revenue Authority to eradicate corruption in the tax body, as it boosts efforts to realize enough revenue to finance the country’s budget. Kayanja thanked Mr Musinguzi and the staff of Uganda Revenue Authority for the invitation and warm welcome.
Moving on, Mr Musinguzi also attended the URA Strategic Stakeholders Engagement which took place at Speak Resort Munyonyo the same day. The event gathered an estimated 200 Chief Executive Officers and Chief Finance Officers from all across the nation to engage on how best they can work together with the agency and ease voluntary compliance.
“I thank you for your consistent dedication to fulfilling your tax obligations which have enabled Government to deliver services to the people of Uganda. The taxpayers in the Large Taxpayers Division during the FY 2020/2021 contributed 40% of our URA collections,” he said in his speech.
Mr Musinguzi stated that the tax body has taken a zero tolerance stance to corruption and continues to engage leaders like Parliamentarians, the Judiciary and civil society groups to walk with them on the mission against this vice.
“There are currently 878 taxpayers in the Large Taxpayers Division. The total of registered taxpayers currently stands at 2.3 Million taxpayers,” he said. “The taxpayers in the Large Taxpayers Division during the FY 2020/2021 contributed 40% of the total revenue collection.”
“As a nation, we fund only 50% of the national budget, which is far below what we need as a country to meet our development agenda. We have to therefore turn to external sources to meet the other half of our national budget needs,” he said.
The Commissioner General revealed key changes the body is making including improving and simplifying their processes and systems to further ease voluntary compliance. “It is important that our tax system is simple, broad based and fair,” he said.
Adding: “We are purposing to improve Information Technology reliability, security, and integration to improve our operational practices, allow efficient and faster information sharing, and support new value-added offerings.”
Mr Musinguzi explained that efforts are being made to bring in more eligible taxpayers into the tax bracket “so that the responsibility of paying taxes is not on the heads of just a few.”
“We have successfully engaged several taxpayers to settle disputes that would have dragged on for years in the Court System and I applaud the LTO taxpayers who have embraced ADR and engaged with us.This avenue provides a win-win situation for both the taxpayer and URA,” he said.
Photos used are courtesy of subject.
