URA may sell off Nakivubo property to recover taxes!

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) debt collection manager Abdusallam Waiswa has warned that the Nakivubo stadium management have until Wednesday next week to pay off their tax arrears or the authority will find a way to recover the debt.

URA closed the place on Tuesday demanding sh532m in tax arrears.

But the stadium management is hesitant to agree on a second debt recovery plan after violating the earlier one signed in 2013.

Waiswa told the media that they will auction part of the stadium property to recover the tax arrears, if Nakivubo does not pay up.

The stadium chairman Godfrey Mabiriizi explained that the reason they have not approached URA for another round of negotiations is the fear that they are likely to violate it again because the stadium does not have a steady source of income anymore.

"We can't commit to pay the debt because we don't have evidence that we shall meet our obligation. I can't append my signature on another agreement for now," Mabiriizi explained.

A team of the stadium officials led by Mabiriizi have an appointment next week, Monday, to meet the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Mrs. Janet Museveni to help them plead with URA to write off the debt or allow them pay it with penalties at a much later date.

In 2013, URA locked the facility and only allowed it to operate again after the two parties agreed on a payment plan to recover about
sh224m and accrued interest of about sh261m.

Nakivubo had agreed to pay URA sh21.5m which includes interest monthly towards the tax arrears. But URA locked the stadium Wednesday because of the arrears