Mugume wrote first book on Ugandan taxes
Mar 26, 2006
AT last, Ugandan students have something of their own to refer to on taxation. Christine Mugume, did not just sit back when Ugandan students failed taxation en masse, but decided to find out why. Little did she know she would end up as an author.
By Elvis Basudde
AT last, Ugandan students have something of their own to refer to on taxation. Christine Mugume, did not just sit back when Ugandan students failed taxation en masse, but decided to find out why. Little did she know she would end up as an author.
Her dream came true when Managing Taxation in Uganda was launched at the close of 2005. The 400-page book with 18 chapters, can be used as a textbook, but it also gives basic information a layperson may need to know about the tax situation in Uganda. Its content is very comprehensive.
Mugume’s manner is one of quiet dignity as she sits in her office at Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF) building on Yusufu Lule Road, where she works as a Tax Manager. Talking to her, you would feel the vibrant personality of an accomplished writer who is deeply attached to her career.
When I asked her how she felt about writing the first book on Ugandan taxation, Mugume’s answer was; “ I have travelled the road to get here and a lot of it has been tough. But what I do is not to dwell on the rough, but to look at myself and say this is truly a blessing — to do the work I love and one I hope can help other people.â€
It took Mugume, a wife and mother of five, three years to write the book. She would sacrifice her sleep to write after her children went to bed.
“If someone asked me what the most difficult thing in this world is, I would answer with little hesitation that it is writing a book on taxation,†said Moses Kagwa, the commissioner of tax policy in the ministry of finance, while launching the book recently at PKF.
Mugume got the idea of writing a book after discussing with one of her staff who had done a course in Certified Public Accountancy about the high failure rate of the taxation paper by many people who study it in Uganda.
“I was bothered and I decided to do research about the paper.â€
Her research showed Mugume, who is a certified chartered accountant, that more than half the number of people who lectured the taxation paper were not in practice. They had just done taxation as a subject at a certain level.
Mugume concluded that it would make a difference if a practicing person taught and brought out the reality of taxation on top of theory.
“I started compiling notes and lecturing at Zenith Business College on Conrad Plaza,†she says.
She started with 15 students out of whom 12 passed.
The good results of Mugume’s maiden class greatly encouraged her and she also started lecturing at Management Accountancy Training.
However, what stunned Mugume during her teaching career was the fact that there was no Uganda-based tax reference book on the market. The book covers taxation, income tax, VAT and it also gives some highlight on East African Community. It also has model questions and solutions.
Mugume was born in Rukungiri District in the late 1960s to Jonathan Kapira, a former headmaster. She is the fourth-born in a family of 10.
She went to Lukondo Primary School before proceeding to Hombe High School. She then joined Trinity College, Nabbingo before proceeding to Makerere University in 1990 to do a degree in social sciences.
She worked briefly as a research officer with International Development Consultants before joining the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
While working with URA she underwent a two-year training which earned her a diploma in Taxation and Revenue Administration.
After finishing her postgraduate diploma, Mugume registered for ACCA. She is married to Sedrick Mugume, who works with the Ministry of Finance.
Managing Taxation in Uganda was printed by MPK Graphics in Kampala and it can be found at Aristoc, Mukono bookshop and all major bookshops around the country.
AT last, Ugandan students have something of their own to refer to on taxation. Christine Mugume, did not just sit back when Ugandan students failed taxation en masse, but decided to find out why. Little did she know she would end up as an author.
Her dream came true when Managing Taxation in Uganda was launched at the close of 2005. The 400-page book with 18 chapters, can be used as a textbook, but it also gives basic information a layperson may need to know about the tax situation in Uganda. Its content is very comprehensive.
Mugume’s manner is one of quiet dignity as she sits in her office at Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF) building on Yusufu Lule Road, where she works as a Tax Manager. Talking to her, you would feel the vibrant personality of an accomplished writer who is deeply attached to her career.
When I asked her how she felt about writing the first book on Ugandan taxation, Mugume’s answer was; “ I have travelled the road to get here and a lot of it has been tough. But what I do is not to dwell on the rough, but to look at myself and say this is truly a blessing — to do the work I love and one I hope can help other people.â€
It took Mugume, a wife and mother of five, three years to write the book. She would sacrifice her sleep to write after her children went to bed.
“If someone asked me what the most difficult thing in this world is, I would answer with little hesitation that it is writing a book on taxation,†said Moses Kagwa, the commissioner of tax policy in the ministry of finance, while launching the book recently at PKF.
Mugume got the idea of writing a book after discussing with one of her staff who had done a course in Certified Public Accountancy about the high failure rate of the taxation paper by many people who study it in Uganda.
“I was bothered and I decided to do research about the paper.â€
Her research showed Mugume, who is a certified chartered accountant, that more than half the number of people who lectured the taxation paper were not in practice. They had just done taxation as a subject at a certain level.
Mugume concluded that it would make a difference if a practicing person taught and brought out the reality of taxation on top of theory.
“I started compiling notes and lecturing at Zenith Business College on Conrad Plaza,†she says.
She started with 15 students out of whom 12 passed.
The good results of Mugume’s maiden class greatly encouraged her and she also started lecturing at Management Accountancy Training.
However, what stunned Mugume during her teaching career was the fact that there was no Uganda-based tax reference book on the market. The book covers taxation, income tax, VAT and it also gives some highlight on East African Community. It also has model questions and solutions.
Mugume was born in Rukungiri District in the late 1960s to Jonathan Kapira, a former headmaster. She is the fourth-born in a family of 10.
She went to Lukondo Primary School before proceeding to Hombe High School. She then joined Trinity College, Nabbingo before proceeding to Makerere University in 1990 to do a degree in social sciences.
She worked briefly as a research officer with International Development Consultants before joining the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
While working with URA she underwent a two-year training which earned her a diploma in Taxation and Revenue Administration.
After finishing her postgraduate diploma, Mugume registered for ACCA. She is married to Sedrick Mugume, who works with the Ministry of Finance.
Managing Taxation in Uganda was printed by MPK Graphics in Kampala and it can be found at Aristoc, Mukono bookshop and all major bookshops around the country.