No tax holidays for investors under EAC

May 22, 2013

The Government will not offer tax holidays to firms seeking to invest in Uganda as the country joins the rest of East African countries in harmonising taxes in the region.The state minister for the East African Community, Shem Bageine, said because of the harmonisation of taxes across the region, t

By Prossy Nandudu

The Government will not offer tax holidays to firms seeking to invest in Uganda as the country joins the rest of East African countries in harmonising taxes in the region.

The state minister for the East African Community, Shem Bageine, said because of the harmonisation of taxes across the region, the Government cannot offer tax holidays as it will be accused of discrimination.

“Previously, we used to have tax holidays to encourage investment but we are moving away from this and going along with taxation regimes that are applicable with in the East African Community,” Bageine noted.

He explained that this will ensure that there is a common tax regime applying to all goods coming into the community.

Bageine noted that raw materials are not taxed, semi-finished products are taxed 10% and final products 25% throughout the East African Community.

“We want to standardise taxes. So, if you are investing in the EAC, some taxes will apply because we want to encourage competitiveness as a hallmark of development in the region,” he said.

“Paper work for the process has been finalised and is awaiting implementation. This will start as soon as consensus has been reached with in the member states.”

Bageine was speaking while touring Roofings Industry at Namanve Industrial Park over the weekend.

His tour was part of the industrialisation strategy within the East African Community, which he said is vital for building economies within the region.

Roofings chairman Sikander Lalani hailed the Government for supporting the industrial sector. He appealed to the Government to tarmac the road that connects the factory to Jinja road.

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