WESTNILE TRADERS IN URGENT NEED FOR SENSTIZATION ON TAXES

BY PATRICK OKABA AND IBRAHIM ADUBANGO

WESTNILE. Sections of local traders in westnile sub-region have raised concern over the multiple taxes being levied on them by the Uganda Revenue Authority.

They say that due to several types of taxes being introduced like the income tax, Domestic and property tax by URA, the local traders feel they are being exploited by the authority. They reveal that this has forced many traders to exit from business hence contributing to poverty and immense loss of government revenue.  

Mohamad Gaya a fish dealer from Panyimur says due to the many taxes levied on their businesses, many traders have exited from their businesses while others have become non-compliant in paying taxes. He says URA should put more focus on sensitizing traders about the importance of paying taxes.

 “There is no tax compliance by the local traders since they don’t the understand different forms of taxes to be paid and this has affected both businesses and profit margins”, Gaya said.

One of the certified Tax advisors in Westnile region Patrick Jove Ogua says that majority of the business communities in the region don’t know their rights and obligations as tax payers and they aren’t made to know the different forms of taxes in place.

Ogua added that, it’s a mandate by the tax authorities to sensitize tax payers in the region to be tax compliant by filling, paying and declaring their returns in time to avoid tax penalties.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) from WestNile region network over the weekend, Ogua noted that there is need for the tax agents to sensitize the local traders on different forms of taxes operational, to avoid non compliance of tax payment.

The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Nebbi district local government Okecha Linus who was the keynote speaker during the graduation ceremony appealed to the practising accountants to work towards building the capacity of local traders to know about the different taxes in place since majority are ignorant about them.

“As professionals, let’s form an audit firm to protect the community we are working in and senstize them to know why they pay tax and which tax they are supposed to pay,” Okecha said.

Meanwhile the Head of Domestic Taxes in Nebbi District Howards Anguandua urges traders to always consult the relevant tax authorities in case they fail to understand different taxes being implemented by the tax governing body URA.

He adds that local traders tend to mix payment of trading license with other taxes like income taxes, property taxes and domestic taxes, which they must be made aware of.