By Sekaggya Seka Moses
Kampala, Uganda – A recent report by the Ministry of Finance has revealed that Uganda lost a staggering UGX 638.6 billion in potential tax revenue over the past five years due to tax exemptions granted to Members of Parliament (MPs).
The exemptions, which began in 2016, were intended to relieve lawmakers of the burden of paying taxes and account for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.
The report, which detailed various categories of taxpayers exempted from paying taxes, showed that MPs were not the only beneficiaries of tax-free incomes.
Members of the Judiciary, Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF), Police, Prisons, and other security organs also enjoyed tax exemptions.
The cumulative total loss over the five years amounts to approximately UGX 638.6 billion, with the government losing UGX 98.73 billion in 2018/19, UGX 126.64 billion in 2019/20, UGX 125.84 billion in 2020/21, UGX 128.83 billion in 2021/22, and UGX 158.56 billion in 2022/23.
The report also highlighted significant losses in tax revenue due to exemptions for officers in security agencies, amounting to over UGX 965.65 billion, and UGX 30.34 billion forgone in tax exemptions granted to officials in the Judiciary.
In total, Uganda has lost over UGX 12 trillion in potential tax revenue over the past five years due to various exemptions.
However, the Ministry of Finance acknowledged that this figure could be even higher due to data constraints and the government’s failure to capture all relevant information for accurate computation.
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