A closer look at URA's new Research lab

The initiative is expected to cater for the growing needs of researchers in academia, national and international entities, and also enhance the skills and research capacity for URA’s internal stakeholders.

URA Commissioner General John R Musinguzi Pulse

Robert Mutebi, the Commissioner for Information Technology and Innovation said the Lab will provide answers and insights on how various policy and administrative changes impact taxpayer behaviours and ultimately revenue.

“Changes in policy (both administrative and tax) have a profound impact on the behaviour of taxpayers. However, many policies are not empirically measured and analysed in Uganda’s context something which is largely attributed to limited technical capacity, lack of data and time constraint to create credible results,” Mutebi added.

The URA secure research lab makes the URA administrative tax data available for researchers to investigate policy-relevant research questions. The URA administrative tax data are accessible in a secure environment to ensure the anonymity of Ugandan taxpayers.

The URA secure research lab is one of the few administrative data facilities open for researchers in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a need for research that widens the understanding of how tax policies impact on firms, individuals and the economy in the Global South. Micro-level research utilizing a large amount of administrative tax data can help design efficient and fair tax systems