PEOPLE AND TAX. (2021)

I send my sincere gratitude towards everyone and hopefully you are safe and sound ,I know many of us may probably neglect or disregard ourselves from reading through this interesting article concerning taxation, my dear friends, I feel its time we motivated and innovated ourselves on issues concerning country development.

In 1953, following recommendations by a committee headed by Mr. C.A.G Wallis, graduated personal tax was introduced. However, it should be also remembered that income tax was introduced in Uganda in 1940 by a protectorate ordinance.

[a] Firstly, taxation is the means by which a government or the taxing authority imposes or levies a tax on its citizens and business entities from incomes tax to goods and service tax (GST) taxation applies to all levels.

[b]However, tax its self is the money that we people have to pay to the government for example taxes are used to pay the government employees such as military and police. Therefore, there are some types of taxes and these include; direct and indirect taxes. Thus to say, we pay some of them directly like cringed (income tax) , corporate tax and wealth tax among others . While we pay some of the taxes indirectly like the sales tax, service tax and value added tax (VAT).

The constitution of Uganda provides that it is the duty of every citizen to pay taxes, it also states that a person who earns income but fails to pay incomes tax , breaches their constitutional obligation hence he or she will be liable to punishment by the government
To make matters more valuable fellow Ugandans, tax is a compulsory payment done by tax payers to increase government revenue.

According to Article 152(1) of the constitution, it provides that no tax shall be imposed except under the authority of an Act of parliament. On this very note, tax is supposed to be paid by an individual whose earning income is Shs 235,000 and above therefore the tax payers have to first register their businesses per month or annually at URA , this therefore helps URA to identify who has paid or defaulted.
In many cases, many people avoid or invade themselves from paying tax due to some reasons as they are analyzed below.

•  Complex income tax structure causes tax evasion in the world.
•  Lack of incentives to honest tax payers.
•  Absence of more awareness or motivational programs for paying income corporate tax.
•  Illiteracy of tax payers and inefficiency or discipline of tax Administration department.
•  Corruption has also become the order of the day among the URA officials hence leading to tax evasion.
•  Lack of adequate resources to sustain and facilitate the operation of tax authorities.
  
  On giving a clear example of which I know very well about my own country, Uganda just as many developing countries collects less on potential tax. The country compares poorly to other low-income countries with regards to income tax revenue mobilization. And according to different reports in 2015-2016, Uganda revenue authority stated that the scale of tax evasion in Uganda by income brake that its gross gap was shs 1.7833.3 billion now the estimated number of 2021 is almost 3.65777 billion due to the increased number of youths who basically doge or avoid taxpaying.
  However, , there many ways in which this issue can be solved following the guidelines:
   
•  The tax paid should be equal or fair in order to prevent tax avoidance and evasion.
•  Ugandans would like to know the simplicity of the tax hence preventing tax evasion.
•  And on behalf of my fellow Ugandans, the tax paid should favor everyone's ability such that we overcome that problem .
•  People would prefer tax that is economical in their country.
•  The certainty of the tax should also be looked at.
•  Improving efficiency, transparency and accountability in tax administration.
•  Delivering better public services that would inspire people to pay tax.
•  Reduce the cost of government infrastructure and hence increase the local tax base.
•  Motivating the tax payers in order to inspire the tax avoiders.
•  Making clear rules and regulations on all tax payers.
•  Sensitize the masses on the advantages of paying tax.
  Did you know the most interesting and inspiring side of paying tax ? Now look because the moment we teach ourselves to pay tax, the rest is history to tell.
  
  According to Mrs. Maggie Kigozi who's among the top leading business ladies in Uganda here, while at Hotel Africana on the conference that was held on 03-05-june 2013, she said that for any business to grow and stay on a higher level, the owner must be a good tax payer and the owner must be exemplary to his or her employees in paying tax .
  
  The following are the advantages or merits of paying tax.
  
  [a] My dear friends, the money you pay on taxes goes to many places.
  [b] In Addition to paying the salaries of government workers like policemen ,teachers ,doctors to mention but a few.
  
  Furthermore, your tax dollars also help to support common resources such firefighters among others. Tax money helps to ensure the roads you travel on are safe and well maintained.
  Tax paid fund the public libraries and parks.
  Never the less, taxation not only pays for public goods and services , it is also a key ingredient in social contract between citizens and the economy of Uganda.
  
  Basing on the journal of economic history
  Vol: 38:NO. 2 (Jan, 1978)
  PP, 418-438
  Published by Cambridge university press:
  Throughout Uganda's modern history , the largest share of government revenue has originated in the agricultural sector , result not only its preponderance in the economy but more importantly of its being consistently taxed higher than non agricultural sector .
  
  Mr. Lutaaya Dan a farmer in Nakaseke village gives a clear testimony , he said that , he used not to pay tax unknowingly that he was cheating on himself, he started farming as a home consumption with an aim of not paying tax, later long, his friend Nakayiza Allen advised him on starting a big farm , he started farming seriously and decided to buy and increase on the land that he had , from there, he employed over 800,000 workers on his farm . He knew the next step was to register his business in Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) since the business was growing bigger , URA officials gave him land license and customary land tenure accounts for scope cent of the total land . He inspired his employees to also pay tax since their income was almost in Ugandan shillings 235000 and above because he was paying them annually and also giving them smart allowances . His farm started supplying different products to different companies within and outside the country, his business is now among the best and big in the country. The Uganda revenue authority later invited him in 2014 to give them a clear testimony about the good and inevitable fruits that he had gained in paying tax .
  
  My fellow Ugandans, I argue you to pay tax because the money you pay definitely is used in developing our country. Avoid tax compliance because its not a burden to pay tax.
  According to Mr. Georg Von Schantz a tax scholar, he says, persons are economically fied to a community and every person who benefits from the obligations of the community being fulfilled, should also share in the responsibilities so other words, should pay tax whether they benefit on the basis of being a resident in state or benefit on the basis of having a source of income or business activities in the state.
  
  Never the less, I conclude by encouraging everyone in his or her own capacity to pay tax for the betterment of building this great Nation and hence making it proudly to everyone. My dear friends, let us sensitize our friends on the benefits of paying tax, encourage them not to be tax compliant, the world would be more sweeter and interesting if we all engage ourselves in paying tax.