By Kabahweza Kamugisha Allan, Media Management
Uganda Revenue Authority has appealed to university students to share tax knowledge with members of their localities to nurture a tax compliant society.
Speaking at a tax education and sensitization session with students of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Andrew Kyakonye from tax education urged the finance and accounting students to disseminate tax knowledge to taxpayers who require such knowledge in their businesses.
He also dispelled their beliefs on URA saying the authority is mandated to assess and collect revenue which is then directly deposited into the consolidated fund, but not making taxation laws.
The students from the Faculty of Business and Management Science had come for an on-site training on tax and revenue administration at the Nakawa headquarters in Nakawa. They were trained on the roles departments in URA play from customs, legal services to domestic taxes among others.
Nakirunda Joweria a tax literacy officer educated the students on Uganda’s tax system noting that it is progressive in nature in that the more you earn, the more tax you pay. She also took them through the different tax heads, the return filing process, income sources and their relevance in taxation and TINs.
On the question of valuation, Ingabire Stella from customs explained that it is considered on three instances namely unprocessed, semi-finished and finished products adding that some products are exempted from taxes while others are zero and standard rated. She informed the students that URA is using systems such as the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) and the electronic single window to facilitate trade through cargo tracking and fast processing of trade documents.
Stella added that RECTS monitors cargo from its first point of entry up-to its destination to ensure compliance with transit rules and regulations.
Kalungi Tonny from legal services educated the students on how URA handles disputes with tax payers highlighting mechanisms like Alternative Dispute resolution, the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) and other courts of law. He however noted that URA encourages a self-assessment system in which taxpayers assess themselves thus avoiding disputes.
Nsengiyumva Bosco from Mbarara University commended URA for agreeing to their request of an on-site training.
