Overview:
The engagement focused on leveraging data analytics, digital innovation and evidence based decision making to improve tax compliance, enhance operational efficiency and deliver better taxpayer services.
KAMPALA. The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) have strengthened their partnership to boost tax collection through data analytics and digital technologies as revenue agencies across the region seek to improve compliance and widen the tax base.
The two tax authorities met this week to exchange best practices on using data-driven approaches to detect non-compliance, improve operational efficiency and enhance taxpayer services.
Opening the engagement, URA Assistant Commissioner for Compliance Management in the Domestic Taxes Department, Garry Kizito, said knowledge-sharing was critical to strengthening tax administration amid rising domestic revenue targets.
“We grow stronger when we share experiences and solutions. These engagements enable us to continuously improve the way we administer taxes,” Kizito said.
He revealed that about 90 percent of URA’s revenue is collected through voluntary taxpayer declarations, while five percent comes from the Compliance Improvement Plan (CIP) and another five percent from arrears management.
Kizito said the Compliance Improvement Plan has become increasingly important as URA pursues higher domestic revenue targets, noting that sophisticated tax evasion methods require equally advanced analytical tools.
“Without smart tools like the Data Lake, we cannot achieve our revenue targets,” he said, describing the Data Lake as the flagship product of the Compliance Improvement Plan.
The Data Lake integrates information from multiple sources to identify compliance risks, detect under-declaration and support targeted enforcement.
Speaking on behalf of the Malawi delegation, Prince Kusamale, Head of Data Analytics and Revenue Assurance at the Malawi Revenue Authority, commended URA for integrating data analytics into tax compliance management.
He said the MRA was particularly interested in learning how URA is scaling its digital systems to support revenue mobilisation and improve compliance.
The benchmarking engagement reflects growing regional efforts by tax authorities to adopt technology and data analytics to combat tax evasion, improve efficiency and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation amid increasing fiscal pressures.