Twesigye Silver the director of Silgad Investments said that the methods used by the enforcement team could lead to low tax compliance or force a taxpayer into bribing the officers.
The business community in Mbarara have condemned alleged brutality by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) staff on alleged tax evaders.
This was during the Integrity
Forum 2024, held on Tuesday at Lake View Hotel in Mbarara City under the theme
"Enhancing URA's Efforts in Combating Corruption and Revenue Leakages,".
Twesigye
Silver the director of Silgad Investments said that the methods used by the enforcement team could lead to low tax compliance or force a taxpayer into bribing the officers.
He urged URA to involve civil society organizations in sensitizing and advocating for
taxpayers' rights, which would strengthen the relationship between the authority
and the business community.
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Kakonge Lee
Apollo, the Executive Director of WASCOF, said that the Authority needs to collaborate with civil society organizations to create
awareness of the numerous Taxes that Ugandans pay.
The
Commissioner of Corporate Services at the Uganda Revenue Authority, Richard
Kariisa, representing the URA Commissioner, urged the
business community to hold the URA staff accountable, particularly regarding
how they serve and collaborate with them. He emphasized the importance of
utilizing technology in businesses to combat bribery and other tendencies of
corruption.
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He
recognized the importance of translating the taxes into
local languages that the business community could understand.