The Uganda revenue authority, URA has today released its annual revenue performance report for the fiscal year 2015/16.
The authority collected 11.23Trillion shillings, according to the report released by Doris Akol, the URA Executive Director this morning.
Akol told the media that “I am happy to report that despite the numerous economic challenges faced during the concluded financial year including slower economic growth, reduced import volumes, depreciation of a Ugandan shilling and relatively subdued investor confidence due to nervousness surrounding the political period among others, we tried our best to collect UGX 11.23TN. Therefore, Allow me congratulate you tax payers without whose cooperation, we would not have moved this far.”
According to Akolo, URA collected net revenue worth 11,230.87Bn, posting a growth rate of 1,515.28Bn shillings compared to the same period last financial year.
Domestic tax collected was 6,399.99Bn, while International trade contributed 4,832.47Bn shillings, a clear indication that the Domestic tax performed at only 95.63% compared to the International trade tax at 97.27%.
The ED explains that there has been a decline in revenue growth rate in FY 2015/16 compared to that of last year by about 5 percentage points. She explains that there are a number of factors that have contributed to this performance and thus a shortfall of 404.54Bn.
At the start of the financial year, the Uganda revenue authority was tasked to mobilize revenue worth 11.63Tn shillings to finance government development programs by funding up to 64% of the national budget, but only managed to raise 11.23Tn shillings.
Some of the reasons for the shortfall in revenue include strained Macroeconomic Environment considering the growth of GDP of 4.6% compared to the projected 5.4%.
URA has in turn partnered with the anti-corruption coalition and other corruption fighting bodies to help citizens get the services they deserve. “In the same vein of fighting against corruption, a shame list was introduced to publicize cases for deterrence purposes.”
