URA BOD Chairman Juma Kisaame hails Taxation rising stars

URA BoD Chairman Juma Kisaame hails Taxation rising stars. Whisper Eye Reports

The board of directors URA Mr Juma Kisaame hailed rising taxation stars at the URA tax appreciation ceremony which was held at Mestil hotel on Friday 11th December 2020.

The ceremony saw various Business community entities scoop awards for there good taxation record among other reasons.

Below is Juma Kisaame full speech;

I salute you all and appreciate you for the great efforts done in ensuring our country remains afloat despite the Covid 19 pandemic and the global business disruptions.

The awards we give today are truly signature awards to especially the “Taxation rising stars”. It is no easy feat rising in the year that has posed a major threat to the global economy. The pandemic has disrupted trade networks, hit supply chains across the world, and resulted in a threatening drop in consumption.

We have seen many business people draw back from active business with the hope that tomorrow will get better. But these stars have made through “nail-biting situations”, resiliently rising above the wave and shining bright.

Because of you, URA has registered excellent performance results so far and it is our conviction that we will have a great finish come June 2021.

Thank you, our esteemed taxpayers for rising, growing your portfolios, and most importantly diligently paying your taxes. You are the pillars upon which we anchor our strength to propel this country into achieving the national strategic vision.

I am happy to report that for the first quarter of this financial year, 2020/21 we collected gross revenue of UGX 4,170,505,209 Trillion of which 59% (UGX 2,456,458,939) was from domestic Taxes while 14% (1,714,046,269) was from taxes on international trade.

We extend our appreciation to the taxpayers who have made this happen and for fulfilling their tax obligations. As the URA we shall focus resources on achieving what drives value. We commit to bring on board more taxpayers through Taxpayer Register Expansion programs so that the tax burden is spread over a bigger number.

The tax register has kept growing over the years and we believe that this will trend will continue in the coming months. As a Board, we have laid strategic actions and made decisions that have resulted in increased tax revenue over the years mainly driven by improvements in our administrative efficiency gains.

We purpose to enhance and transform tax administration to ease doing business and reduce the cost of compliance. The fast pace of the digital revolution has made us invest in modern Information technology solutions to match with the changing trends in the business environment. I commend all of you who have been

early adopters of the new initiatives that we have introduced and currently attest to the benefits they offer in terms of enhancing business performance and thereby increasing our revenue collections.

The Board will continue to focus on efforts for nurturing, developing and growing the capacity of our staff, with emphasis on professionally skilling them to support clients’ needs.

We will also continue to advise management to engage you our taxpayers and citizens and build constructive partnerships. This is essential in building productive collaborations. We are therefore positive that with an engaged citizenry, the taxpaying culture shall be enhanced ultimately.

I encourage you to challenge yourself by thinking of how best to overcome the disruptions. We promise to stand in the gap and we will offer advice from the taxation front to enable you fulfil your obligations. Finally there is a famous saying in lusoga that goes;

“Waigumbulizi kyabanakyo nekyakuwa” meaning that when it comes to giving, there is nothing small. So please allow me to present on behalf of URA the regional Vantage awards to our Top 10 taxation rising stars as a token of appreciation for their great contribution. Thank you for being compliant.

May the Almighty richly bless you all. For God and my country.