URA Tower, the head offices of URA in Nakawa, Kampala
Local Governments want the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Act amended to ensure that they are paid agency fees.
Through their umbrella body, Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) says Local Governments have been disfranchised by the URA Act which is silent about remitting agency tax back to local governments after collecting for the government.
ULGA Vice Chairperson for Eastern region, Patrick Kayemba says that the sources of revenue every financial year are decreasing yet even the few sources where they used to get revenue like taxing boda bodas, taxis,forests, agricultural produce among others have been abolished.
Kayemba says that Local Governments collect taxes on behalf of URA through Pay As You Earn (PAYE), VAT and Withdrawing Tax on contracts among others which he says they would like URA to start paying them for this work.
He adds that even though this is enshrined in the Local Government Act, they should be paid agency fees for this work but this isn’t stipulated in the current URA Act which has made it impossible to demand for these funds.
He noted that failure of Local Governments to get agency fees from URA has seen them struggle to deliver services to the people they collect the revenue from.
Kayemba is also calling for the full implementation of the decentralization policy where they want the Government to increase the budget of Local Governments from the current 9% to 38% as envisioned in the policy.
ULGA leaders have also asked President Yoweri Museveni to think of enhancing salaries of Local Government workers.
Kayemba says enhancing salaries of only scientists demoralizes other Government workers.
