By Irene Kabakama
URA met with more than 300 hotel owners to listen to the plight they go through as an industry, as they push for compliance. The engagement was organized by the Uganda Hotel Owner’s Association at Protea Hotel in Kololo.
Speaking at the engagement on Thursday, John R. Musinguzi, the Commissioner General of URA said that by focusing on encouraging tax compliance, his team will be working to demystify paying tax. URA ’s main challenge is to increase the tax contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product to at least 20% .
“As a nation, we are currently funding only 50% of the national budget which is below what we need as a country. This has left us with no choice but to seek external help to meet the balance,” Musinguzi said at the engagement.
Musinguzi called for more cooperation with the industry in order to expand the tax base. This sector has 5,731 taxpayers who contributed UGX 117,763 billion last financial year alone.
In order to ease their compliance, Musinguzi also encouraged the Hoteliers to embrace key technologies in their business through; Electronic Fiscal Receipting & Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) and Digital Tracking Solution (DTS) to combat revenue leakages.
He further promised increased face-to-face and more focused tax education to this sector so that they are equipped with all the necessary information to grow their businesses and remain compliant.
For Musinguzi, meeting the Hoteliers through their association is one of the avenues URA has adopted to offer tailor-made education to the various taxpayer segments so that they are able to pay their taxes with ease.
“URA will come up with a unit to focus on this sector to offer efficient services and guide on the incentives provided in the law which are for every investor regardless of origin because we all contribute to the Uganda’s economy,” Musinguzi said of the improved support going forward.
On the other hand, Susan Muhwezi, the Chairperson Uganda Hotel Owners Association(UHOA) appreciated the Hoteliers for turning up in big numbers-which was testimony of their urge to improve voluntarily compliance.
She added that the Association was established to extend their “voices” to government and lobby for better services. Challenges notwithstanding, Muhwezi noted a good working relationship with URA that has strengthened their association and improved tax compliance.
“URA has offered exemptions to the hotel operation materials which has helped with the accommodation services, extension of VAT exemptions which arose due to COVID 19 effects and training of our members in EFRIS operations at no cost,” Muhwezi said of the URA support.
Additional Reporting by Immaculate Wanyenze
