By Irene Kabakama
Governments have been urged to take into account policies that will broaden their tax base, enhance the ability of revenue authorities to effectively collect taxes, and make it simple for citizens to comply.
URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi made this call while presiding over the 96th meeting of the East African Revenue Authority Technical Committee, which is taking place this week at the Mestil Hotel in Kampala.
He noted that this would make it easier to fight for the region’s economic independence.
Musinguzi cautioned the technical specialists to think about methods for mobilizing revenue to fund their budgets and set their nations free from economic dependence.
In order to raise the urgently required funds, he suggested creative ways. “Let’s look deeper and analyze the challenges such as the growing informal sector, narrow tax base, increasing arrears, smuggling, and aggressive tax planning by multinational corporations leading to profit sharing,” he stated.
He also encouraged the team to consult extensively and share views on revenue performance as well as new advances in tax administration in order to ensure that the recommendations put forth will have favorable effects on collections in the future.
The East African Revenue Authority Technical Committee is charged with implementing resolutions from the East African Revenue Authorities Commissioner Generals (EARACG) meeting that happens annually.
Some of the resolutions adopted last year include, among others, identifying effective domestic tax administration systems, bringing domestic laws into alignment, and creating a common solution for contracting and performance management. These will form part of the discussion during the weeklong engagement.
Meanwhile, this year’s meeting has been hosted by URA and it has brought together participants from the National Revenue Authority, OBR-Burundi, the Rwanda Revenue Authority, the Zanzibar Revenue Authority, and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
