URA insists oil taxes must be paid

Sep 27, 2010

Taxes from oil due to the Government should be paid, Gerald Ssendaula, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) chairman, has said. “We are not listening to anything else. The tax must be paid. Nobody should start exempting people from paying tax on our natural resource.

By Vision Reporter

Taxes from oil due to the Government should be paid, Gerald Ssendaula, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) chairman, has said. “We are not listening to anything else. The tax must be paid. Nobody should start exempting people from paying tax on our natural resource.

“Taxes from that natural resource must be paid,” he said. Ssendaula said the URA board would back efforts to ensure that taxes due are paid.

“The issue of paying tax in any nation should not be challenged unless you have been exempted in your agreement. But if you do not have an agreement, please pay tax because people are going to complain and say we have this natural resource and are having tax exemptions. The board will give URA all the support on the new frontiers.”

Uganda is embroiled in a tax dispute arising from the sale of blocks 1 and 3A by Heritage Oil to its partner Tullow Oil at $1.5b, subjected to a tax of over $400m. Ssendaula was addressing stakeholders at the 6th annual tax appreciation day awards and e-tax launch at the Kampala Serena Hotel on Friday.

Thirteen winners took accolades, including the Commissioner General’s, Vantage and Excel awards. Allen Kagina, the URA chief, said the key feature of e-tax was an integrated tax administration system that will manage all domestic taxes and duties and non-tax revenues.

“Electronic registration, filing and payments has been enabled across the country although it is currently mandatory in three tax offices which account for about 80% of domestic tax revenue,” she said.

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