By Joshua Niyonshima
In a bid to promote business growth and tax compliance, URA has equipped 34 business startups with knowledge on their rights and obligations, business formalization, tax incentives and non-tax incentives offered by Government.
In a one-day training session held at Motiv Bugolobi, URA aimed to educate startups on the importance of formalizing their businesses, maintaining accurate records and leveraging tax incentives to boost their growth.
Andrew Bukenya, a tax education officer noted that by training startups, URA seeks to encourage tax compliance and support them in becoming sustainable and profitable enterprises.
“You need to register your businesses with Uganda Registration Services Bureau(URSB), acquire a name and also register for taxes by acquiring a tax identification number (TIN). This will enable you to trade conveniently,” Bukenya said.
Lodia Vicky, also a tax literacy officer at URA revealed that URA is currently fostering a self-assessment regime where businesses assess themselves through return filing.
“Once you have registered your business, keep records and file timely returns. At URA, we trust you, our taxpayers, we assume that every piece of information you give us is right. But, when you fail to assess yourself, a tax officer shall give you an administrative assessment,” she explained.
However, Lodia also highlighted their obligations as; tax payment, registration, refund claims, tax returns, payment of taxes, compliance, respect for authority, and updates on personal information.
She further revealed to the attendants that Uganda’s tax regime is progressive since tax is only charged on profits.
