By ISMAIL MUSA LADU
Rwanda’s revenue collection performance is
better compared to Uganda and its East African Community peers, Uganda
Revenue Authority’s regional revenue report indicates.
According to the report, in the last ten months,
Rwanda’s tax body collected 100 per cent of its gross revenue
mobilisation as other countries, among them Uganda, struggled with their
collection targets. Revenue mobilisation means to receive or collect
money from both internal (domestic taxes) and external (international
taxes) sources.
“For July 2012 to April 2013, Rwanda Revenue
Authority registered a performance of 100 per cent in gross revenue
mobilisation, Uganda Revenue Authority posted 97 per cent and Kenya
Revenue Authority registered a 90 per cent,” the report reads.
This is supported by the 2011 International
Monetary Fund Revenue Mobilisation in Developing Countries Report,
Rwanda’s impressive revenue mobilisation is attributed to among others;
its total commitment to efficient IT operations and the evident
political will, something tax analysts say is yet to be fully realised
in Uganda.
“Revenue authorities (RAs) have not always lived
up to the high expectations held by some, but, with political will, they
can provide a framework for sustained progress,” an IMF, report reads
in part.
Although Uganda has since improved its revenue
performance, the report seems to indicate that the country is
stagnating. This is evident in the cumulative loss of nearly Shs160
billion incurred over the last ten months, thanks to poor performance in
the international tax segment.
For developing countries to catch-up, the report
suggests that key improvements which include moving away from
duplicative and narrowly focused tax-by-tax approaches, integrating
domestic direct and indirect tax management and segmenting the taxpayer
population will enhance compliance and improve administration.
The IMF report also says if developing countries
are to improve their revenue mobilisation, securing prompt and
appropriate tax payment from resource companies, financial institutions
and telecom operators is a prerequisite for effective revenue-raising.
“The natural next step is to deliver similarly
high-quality services and compliance enforcement to non-large taxpayers,
improved business processes, built on effective IT systems, is
critical, but failures have been too common,” the report reads.
Some tax experts like Mr Francis Kamulegeya are
of the view that better process management are among the major ways that
can reduce compliance costs and facilitate self-assessment—for they can
simplify taxpayer registration, filing and payment, audit, collection
enforcement, and appeals among others.
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