The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa has called for a wider tax base and stronger compliance to increase Uganda’s domestic revenue, instead of repeatedly raising taxes on businesses and individuals already paying.
Tayebwa said Uganda could raise its tax-to-GDP ratio from the current 13–14 per cent to about 21 per cent if more people and businesses entered the tax net and paid their fair share.
“How do you expect us to build more roads, generate more power and provide you with water when we are still hovering around a tax-to-GDP ratio of 13–14 per cent?” Tayebwa asked.
He said increasing taxes on compliant taxpayers could raise the cost of doing business and discourage investment.
“If we ensure that everyone pays their fair share of the tax, we can raise the tax-to-GDP ratio without putting new taxes on you as business people,” he said.
The government has set a target of increasing Uganda’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 20 per cent by the financial year 2029/30, from roughly 14 per cent currently.
Finance Minister Henry Musasizi said achieving the target will require improved tax compliance and a broader tax base rather than continued taxation of businesses and individuals already within the formal system.
“Roads, electricity generation and transmission, water systems, hospitals, schools, security and other public infrastructure require sustained domestic financing.”
Musasizi said Uganda’s low tax-to-GDP ratio limits the government’s ability to finance public services and infrastructure without relying heavily on borrowing, grants and other external financing.
The Fourth National Development Plan identifies domestic resource mobilisation as a key source of financing Uganda’s development and calls for measures to improve tax compliance, broaden the tax base and strengthen digital tax administration.
Tayebwa said Parliament wants businesses to identify laws and policies that make it difficult for them to invest, expand and create jobs.
“The government does not create wealth. The government creates conditions which will enable you, the business community, to create wealth,” he said.
He also urged established businesses to mentor young entrepreneurs, saying growth in private businesses would create jobs and expand economic activity.
He was speaking on Wednesday at Parliament during the inaugural National Prayer Breakfast Business Forum, ahead of the 28th Uganda National Prayer Breakfast scheduled for Thursday, October 8, at State House, Entebbe.
The forum, held under the theme “Wake Up, Work Hard, Build Uganda,” brought together legislators and business leaders to discuss the private sector’s contribution to national development. Emmanuel Katongole, Executive Chairman of the Presidential CEO Forum, delivered the keynote address.
Katongole urged business leaders to allow their faith and values to guide their conduct, saying prayer should be accompanied by work, courage and discipline. The forum attracted participants from Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Germany, India, Cameroon and other countries.
Tayebwa also urged Members of Parliament to understand the challenges faced by businesses and investors. He said Uganda’s economic transformation would depend on more people creating wealth rather than relying solely on government programmes. “If each one of us here becomes rich, then we shall all become richer,” he said-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
