President Museveni decries begging trips to donors
Dec 10, 2005
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has decried the poor collection of taxes, saying it has forced Uganda into humiliating begging trips to Europe and the US.
By Sylvia Juuko
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has decried the poor collection of taxes, saying it has forced Uganda into humiliating begging trips to Europe and the US.
“Under-collection of taxes will lead to three things; slavery, stunted growth and distortions in the economy,†he said.
“Without taxes, you borrow or beg, which undermines the sovereignty of the country. The ministry of Finance has excelled in begging, with trips to Washington and dancing to their tunes,†he said, amid laughter from the audience that included donors.
Museveni was yesterday presiding over the tax appreciation day organised by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) at its headquarters in Nakawa.
He said lack of enough taxes resulted into donor-dependency, which slowed down crucial decision-making processes.
“The whole economy is sabotaged by depending on decisions from other people. The problem with western countries is that when they call you for funds, you are told to go back when you get to their gates, this is very uncivilised,†he said.
He said the main victims of low taxes were the economic actors who incur high costs of doing business due to lack of power.
“The dam at river Nile can be built at a cost of $350m but because of depending on others, we got lots of delays and the consequence is power shortages. We are currently paying more to import diesel generators,†he said.
Museveni commended URA for increasing tax collections from sh181b in 1991 to the projected sh2,230b this fiscal year.
He also commended URA for fighting corruption, saying its reforms were a pilot project that would be implemented in the public service.
“To fight corruption, you have to get young people like (Allen) Kagina (URA Commissioner General) who understand and are loyal to movement principles to run these institutions.
“We are fighting corruption by getting soldiers who use calculators and computers,†he said.
He said it was important to pay custom officers well as an incentive against corruption, saying when he was fighting former President Idi Amin, he brought guns into the country through corrupt customs officials.
“Corruption will go like we stopped extra-judicial killings. Similarly, we will stop stealing of government funds by cadre identification, development and emplacement.†He directed the ministry of finance to provide URA with funds to buy facilities like x-ray machines.
While outlining the transformation process in URA, Kagina said revenue collection would surpass the targets.
She said the annual taxpayer’s appreciation day with the theme, Power to develop Uganda is in your hands, was in recognition of compliant taxpayers.
“Awarding taxpayers for their exemplary performance will improve our relationship with the taxpayers and improve compliance,†Kagina said.
She said the URA call centre, which was launched by the president, would allow them provide accurate tax information at no charge.
Museveni handed over URA appreciation awards to the largest taxpayer in 2004/5 financial year, MTN Uganda, followed by Shell Uganda and Uganda Breweries.
Prime Minister Professor Apolo Nsibambi was recognised as the most compliant individual for submitting all his tax returns on time.
Several large taxpayers, individuals and journalists were also awarded.
Ends
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has decried the poor collection of taxes, saying it has forced Uganda into humiliating begging trips to Europe and the US.
“Under-collection of taxes will lead to three things; slavery, stunted growth and distortions in the economy,†he said.
“Without taxes, you borrow or beg, which undermines the sovereignty of the country. The ministry of Finance has excelled in begging, with trips to Washington and dancing to their tunes,†he said, amid laughter from the audience that included donors.
Museveni was yesterday presiding over the tax appreciation day organised by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) at its headquarters in Nakawa.
He said lack of enough taxes resulted into donor-dependency, which slowed down crucial decision-making processes.
“The whole economy is sabotaged by depending on decisions from other people. The problem with western countries is that when they call you for funds, you are told to go back when you get to their gates, this is very uncivilised,†he said.
He said the main victims of low taxes were the economic actors who incur high costs of doing business due to lack of power.
“The dam at river Nile can be built at a cost of $350m but because of depending on others, we got lots of delays and the consequence is power shortages. We are currently paying more to import diesel generators,†he said.
Museveni commended URA for increasing tax collections from sh181b in 1991 to the projected sh2,230b this fiscal year.
He also commended URA for fighting corruption, saying its reforms were a pilot project that would be implemented in the public service.
“To fight corruption, you have to get young people like (Allen) Kagina (URA Commissioner General) who understand and are loyal to movement principles to run these institutions.
“We are fighting corruption by getting soldiers who use calculators and computers,†he said.
He said it was important to pay custom officers well as an incentive against corruption, saying when he was fighting former President Idi Amin, he brought guns into the country through corrupt customs officials.
“Corruption will go like we stopped extra-judicial killings. Similarly, we will stop stealing of government funds by cadre identification, development and emplacement.†He directed the ministry of finance to provide URA with funds to buy facilities like x-ray machines.
While outlining the transformation process in URA, Kagina said revenue collection would surpass the targets.
She said the annual taxpayer’s appreciation day with the theme, Power to develop Uganda is in your hands, was in recognition of compliant taxpayers.
“Awarding taxpayers for their exemplary performance will improve our relationship with the taxpayers and improve compliance,†Kagina said.
She said the URA call centre, which was launched by the president, would allow them provide accurate tax information at no charge.
Museveni handed over URA appreciation awards to the largest taxpayer in 2004/5 financial year, MTN Uganda, followed by Shell Uganda and Uganda Breweries.
Prime Minister Professor Apolo Nsibambi was recognised as the most compliant individual for submitting all his tax returns on time.
Several large taxpayers, individuals and journalists were also awarded.
Ends