URA meets hoteliers to offer tailor-made tax solutions

The engagement was organised by the Uganda Hotel Owner’s Association at Protea Hotel in Kololo.

Speaking at the engagement on Thursday, John Rujoki Musinguzi, the Commissioner General of URA said that by focusing on encouraging tax compliance, his team will be working to demystify paying tax.

“As a nation, we are currently funding only 50% of the national budget which is below what we need as a country. This has left us with no choice but to seek external help to meet the balance,” Musinguzi said at the engagement.

Musinguzi called for more cooperation with the industry in order to expand the tax base. This sector has 5,731 taxpayers who contributed UGX 117,763 billion last financial year alone.

In order to ease their compliance, Musinguzi also encouraged the Hoteliers to embrace key technologies in their business through; Electronic Fiscal Receipting & Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) and Digital Tracking Solution (DTS) to combat revenue leakages.

He further promised increased face-to-face and more focused tax education to this sector so that they are equipped with all the necessary information to grow their businesses and remain compliant.

“URA will come up with a unit to focus on this sector to offer efficient services and guide on the incentives provided in the law which are for every investor regardless of origin because we all contribute to the Uganda’s economy,” Musinguzi said of the improved support going forward.

On the other hand, Susan Muhwezi, the Chairperson Uganda Hotel Owners Association(UHOA) said the Association was established to extend their “voices” to government and lobby for better services.

“URA has offered exemptions to the hotel operation materials which has helped with the accommodation services, extension of VAT exemptions which arose due to COVID 19 effects and training of our members in EFRIS operations at no cost,” Muhwezi said of the URA support.

Challenges notwithstanding, Muhwezi noted a good working relationship with URA that has strengthened their association and improved tax compliance.