Busoga traders urge goverment to raise awareness on taxes

“Almost every week , there is a new tax being introduced, we are getting frustrated because we spend a lot yet earn so little, many businesses have closed”, Beatrice Kamuka a trader in Jinja central market said.

She asked the gov’t to streamline taxation policies arguing that their businesses are choking on taxes.

They say there is a need for the Uganda Revenue Authority(URA) to carry out continuous education of communities on the value of tax payment to avoid cases of resistance.

Emmanuel Muyanda, the general secretary of the jinja city traders association, says traders tend to resist tax payment due to reasons ranging from unexplained tax regimes, unfair means of collection and discrimination .

“There should not be any discrimination in tax collection today, but you find that certain businesses are taxed and others left out yet they operate in the same environment“,he said on saturday, july 20,2024, during a meeting of leaders of traders from Busoga.

The meeting at the southern division offices in Jinja city was organised by the federation of Uganda Traders Association(FUTA) ahead of the planned meeting of traders with president Yoweri Museveni on July 31, at Kololo in Kampala

The Kololo meeting, according to katongole who is the vice chairperson of FUTA, is meant to discus the electronic receipting and invoicing system(EFRIS) introduced by the URA early this Year leading to protests by traders.

Katongole said whereas EFRIS may not be bad, it was imposed on the business community without prior sensitization yet their businesses are struggling due to high taxation

Humprey Mutaasa, MD – agripoint initiatives limited, a trader, said inclusivity in planning and enforcement of tax regimes can offer a long lasting solution to challenges affecting the business community.