URA empowers local governments with practical tax skills

As part of its continued mandate to improve tax compliance across public institutions, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), through its Public Sector Office (PSO), has launched practical training sessions aimed at equipping Local Government officials with the knowledge and tools to meet their tax obligations more effectively.

One such training session took place earlier this week at Kyamate Secondary School in Ntungamo District, following a request from district officials who had identified compliance gaps within their institutions. The engagement attracted a wide range of participants, including representatives from district headquarters, municipalities, town councils, divisions, and sub-counties.

The training focused on hands-on learning, with sessions covering Value Added Tax (VAT), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) registration, the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS), and penalties for non-compliance.

Hafsah Seguya Nabachwa, Acting Supervisor for Tax Education in the Central Region, emphasized the importance of empowering government officials to handle tax-related obligations without relying on third parties.

“Do not give your money to agents,” she warned. “How can you earn UGX 100,000 and give it away every month? Learn to do it yourself.”

She also introduced participants to URA’s simplified VAT return filing process and stressed that every employee under a local government must have a TIN, especially since the system now mandates TIN validation for return processing.

“If someone doesn’t have a TIN, their return won’t validate,” she added.

Marion Lubowa, Supervisor for Compliance, Enforcement, and Reconciliation in the PSO, highlighted frequent oversights in PAYE submissions—particularly the failure to include all eligible employees in tax returns. She cautioned that such errors could result in delays in obtaining Tax Clearance Certificates (TCCs) or even legal penalties.

“We are working to simplify this process, and soon we will roll out pre-filled PAYE forms to ease compliance for accounting officers,” Lubowa announced.

Ntungamo Chief Administrative Officer, Fidelis Kiiza, welcomed the training and expressed gratitude for URA’s support, citing the realities local governments face.

“We are managing over 3,500 workers and 1,500 pensioners with limited human and technical resources,” he noted. “This training is timely, and we expect to see significant improvement in our compliance moving forward.”

The ongoing training sessions are part of a broader URA initiative targeting enhanced voluntary compliance in public sector institutions. The program will continue this week with additional engagements planned in Kassanda and Mityana districts.

URA’s efforts align with its broader strategic goal of promoting a tax-compliant culture across Uganda’s public sector, reducing administrative bottlenecks, and building institutional capacity at all levels of government.