The Commissioner General of Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), John R. Musinguzi (pictured) has asked Parliament to consider the proposal of enhancing the salaries of the tax officials so as to avoid corruption tendencies.
“Of course another area we have been discussing with parliament is to do with staff welfare so as to reduce the temptation that comes out of lack (of enough money) because we are all human beings and we deal with a very tempting job of collecting revenue on behalf of the nation. So we don’t want to give excuses to staff to start dipping their hands into national revenue because they have lack,” Musinguzi said.
He made the plea while appearing before Parliament’s Finance Committee where the Authority had been summoned to present their budget performance for the 2022/2023 Financial Year so far, and defended the salary increment, saying that the Authority’s salary hasn’t been increased for years and the current double digit inflation has left staff struggling to make ends meet.
“Indeed our welfare hasn’t been looked at for a number of years and we are dealing with issues like inflation which is in double digits and we have people still earning what isn’t even enough for them to drive to work,” he added.
Amos Kankunda (Rwampara County) backed the proposal of having staff recognized with bonuses, revealing that his wife is staff at URA and there is need to therefore increase salaries of all staff in order to boost revenue collection in Uganda.
“At the risk of conflict of interest, because my wife works with the Revenue Authority, I want to appreciate that it is very important and one of our colleagues suggested that for now in the interim we can consider even bonus on hitting targets but we also know that it is in the interest of the staff that in the future if they retire, they have more benefit to carry home,” he said.
However, Maximus Ochai (West Budama North County) was opposed to the proposal of bonuses arguing that in collecting revenue not only URA puts in effort, but the collection is a combination of inputs of various institutions.
“I am one person who is against bonus in the context of Uganda’s economy. I want to remind ourselves that revenue service is a public service like any public service and it can’t be only one entity with a collective effort. Consider that we are all serving one nation, we take home what we deserve, after all we would have performed our duties,” said Ochai.
However, Richard Kariisa, Commissioner Corporate Services at URA, further defended the request for salary increment highlighting that the Authority is conducting a review with similar agencies that in similar business like Kenya Revenue Authority, Tanzania Revenue Authority to look at salaries across board.
“Actually, the senior leaders under URA are paid the least if you looked at similar agencies and that cuts across to the lowest officers. That is why we are coming to you saying that given what we are facing of inflation and the time we have taken without increasing salaries to our staff is a genuine request for your consideration,” said Kariisa.
But Ochai fired back arguing that the comparison with regional revenue collecting bodies is far-fetched because the economies in the both nations are bigger than Uganda’s.
Kariisa however replied that even if the comparison isn’t limited to KRA, the comparison can be made with indigenous agencies like Bank of Uganda, National Planning Authority, Uganda National Roads Authority, Petroleum Authority Uganda and others but their salaries are still higher than the top officers at URA, yet the Tax Authority collects money that pays salaries of staff of these agencies.
Kariisa said: “So even if you worked internally still our salaries are lower compared to sister agencies. Also cognizant should be given of the role that senior leaders at URA play in collecting revenue that facilitates all government operations including Parliament.”
Asked by Enos Asiimwe (Kabula County) how much money the Authority requires for salary increment, the Commissioner General said the Authority is still conducting a review ahead of the 2023/2024 national budget process.
It should however be recalled that the same request was fronted by URA in January 2022, seeking for Shs106Bn to increase salaries of its staff. Musinguzi asked Parliament not to be taken aback by the huge salary figures flashed on appointment letters of the URA staff, saying almost 40% of the URA staff salary if wiped off, before other taxes like Pay As You Earn take effect.
