URA demands sh3.9b from MUK

By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe and John EremuTHE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is demanding sh3.9b in tax arrears from Makerere University staff.Dr. Mukiibi Katende, the chairman Makerere University Academic Staff Association told the General Assembly on Tuesday that URA was moving in to tax several other allowances.Mukiibi said URA claims the university staff were being under-taxed and that the tax arrears must be cleared. He said URA wanted taxes on the biological scheme, housing allowance and money accrued from examination setting and marking recovered from the staff serving or not, dead or alive beginning 1997. The biological scheme is a benefit to lecturers whose children are on private sponsorship. The university meets 50% of their costs of study.Mukiibi said they wrote to finance minister Gerald Ssendaula, requesting for a tax waiver.He warned that recovering the money was not only expensive but might lead to strikes.