The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has asked the government to find alternative areas to tax rather than burdening the same pool of taxpayers.
While presiding over parliament on Thursday, Among stated that the ongoing standoff between Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and traders is due to the traders feeling overburdened by the numerous taxes they have to pay.
She emphasized that the government should explore alternative areas to tax, even within the informal sector.
“I have over 2000 cows and nobody charges me any form of tax, and no one wants to know how much I get out of them. Let’s widen the tax base instead of making the traders suffer. People have so many cows, and the government should start taxing them,” Among said.
The Speaker’s comments come following over a week-long protest by traders against the enforcement of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions (EFRIS) system by URA.
Traders have expressed concerns about what they perceive as double taxation and have criticized the lack of sufficient information regarding the operation and objectives of the EFRIS system.
Traders also argue that the EFRIS system incurs high implementation costs as it requires the use of modern technological tools such as computers or smartphones, additional equipment for printing receipts, and the hiring of a designated individual to manage it, all of which impose additional costs.
President Yoweri Museveni is expected to meet with leaders of the striking traders today to explore ways of resolving their objections.