URA names 310 top tax defaulters

 

President Museveni unveils the Vision 2040 for Uganda at Kololo Independence Grounds on April 18. PHOTO BY Ronald Kabuubi/eappa images. 

By Faridah kulabako

In Summary

Pending action. Those listed have been given seven days to pay up or be prosecuted without further notice.

URA facilitates corruption, says new report

LIST OF URA DEFAULTERS
Taxpayer Amount
Ministry of Health A/C Mulago Hospital Shs1.9b
TMP Uganda Shs839.5m
Ministry of Energy Shs771.8m
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shs361.3m
Eastern Builders & Engineers Ltd Shs145.7m
Kapchorwa District Shs240.8m
Moroto Municipal Council Shs131.8m
Ministry of Agriculture Shs50.8m
Hotloaf Bakery Ltd Shs26.4m
J&M Airport Road Hotel Shs26.3m
Parambot Breweries Ltd Shs33.5m

Kampala.

With less than 25 days left to the end of the current financial year, the Uganda Revenue Authority has published a list of 312 enterprises that have defaulted on tax payment—a move meant to compel the firms to pay up and enable the tax body meet its target.

The list, which has been published in today’s Daily Monitor, includes individuals, companies and government departments which owe the tax body a total of Shs170.26 billion.

URA has instructed those listed to settle the outstanding tax arrears within seven days (that expire on June 13) or else be prosecuted without any further notice “at their own peril and associated costs”.

 

Some of the defaulters include the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Shs771.8 million), Ministry of Health A/C Mulago Hospital (Shs1.9 billion), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Shs361.3 million), Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (Shs50.8 million), Hotloaf Bakery Ltd (Shs26.4 million), TMP sUganda (Shs839.5 million), Alert Guards and Security Systems Ltd (Shs70.9 million), J&M Airport Road Hotel (Shs26.3 million) and Parambot Breweries Ltd (Shs33.5 million) among others.

The URA spokesperson, Mr Paul Kyeyune, said the authority could also opt to issue agency notices, which are instructions to commercial banks where the taxpayers have accounts to recover the money directly from their accounts.

In extreme cases, the defaulters could be prosecuted at the Commercial Division of the High Court.
The revenue body suffers a cumulative shortfall of nearly Shs160 billion below its Shs7 trillion collection target for the 2012/13 financial year, according to URA monthly performance report released last month.

Below target
The revenue body’s net revenue collections cumulatively for the period July 2012 – April 2013 were Shs5.7 trillion against a target of Shs5.8 trillion, registering a deficit of Shs157 billion.

Mr Amos Nzeyi, who owns Hotloaf Bakery, said he is not aware of the arrears but promised to check with the management. This is the second list URA is publishing this year, with the first one of 314 tax defaulters published in January, whose arrears stood at more than Shs30 billion.

Mr Kyeyune said since the authority started naming defaulters, it has yielded positive results as businesses run to save their image and credibility. He said information from the Debt Collection Unit shows that a good number of the exposed tax payers are flocking the Crested Towers-based office to settle the arrears.

Although URA is supposed to treat the affairs of tax payers in confidentiality, it was forced to this move as the last resort, after all the other means failed to yield results, said Mr Kyeyune.