By Joshua Niyonshima
Ibrahim Bbossa, the Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs, URA is willing to partner with media partners in the revenue mobilisation journey as he pushes for greater tax compliance.
Speaking at the different Newsrooms, where he made a courtesy call with his staff, Bbossa said that by focusing on collecting enough revenue, his team will be working on simplifying tax. He visited media houses of; Radio Simba, Capital fm, Sanyu fm and Observer.
Bbossa ‘s main challenge is to increase the tax contribution to the Country ‘’s Domestic Product, which has recently shifted to only 14 percent.
This is way below the regional average, with both Kenya and Tanzania registering 16 percent.
Meanwhile, Bbossa also praised the media houses for the role they play in supporting URA to fulfil its mandate. He noted a few who deliberately publish stories without any due diligence.
“We acknowledge some delays in response time because some of the information you need is policy that cannot only destroy URA but negatively impact the economy,” Bbossa explained.
He appreciated media the unsolicited media coverage accorded to URA. He asked for more cooperation if the goal of liberating Uganda economically is to be realized.
“We always have to be in the media in one way or another but we may not have all the money to pay for each and every appearance so our media friends have to understand us,” he added.
The media houses on the other hand asked for timely information and pledged to continue to support URA while also fulfilling their roles as taxpayers.
They also shared some ideas on how they can help URA demystify tax to ensure compliance for all. These included; dramatizing tax content in the different languages, utilizing their digital platforms to ensure continuity for tax messages, involving journalists during enforcement activities among others.
Media visits or engagements with the editors play an integral role in domestic revenue mobilization. It is for this reason that URA meets with them on a quarterly basis to create consistent endearment with the public and ease their compliance.
Additional Reporting by Immaculate Wanyenze
