Finance Minister Matia Kasaija on Wednesday afternoon read out this Financial Year 2016/17 National Budget, with great emphasis on development of national infrastructure.
Minister Kasaija however, did not perform this duty as the Finance Minister, since his name was not yet approved by Parliament after he was reappointed on Monday.
As such, President Yoweri Museveni delegated him merely as the Member of Parliament for Buyanja Constituency to read out the Shs. 26.36 Trillion budget on his behalf, which had already been passed by the 9th Parliament in May.
The Minister announced that up to 24.8% (UGX6.5Trillion) of the Budget will be externally financed though loans and grants
He also projected that Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) will collect Shs. 12.9 Trillion to support this Budget (up from 11.5Tn last year).
As such, Minister Kasaija tabled a number of measures through which this amount will be generated, and strongly emphasized “expansion of the tax base by gradually formalizing the large informal sector, improving efficiency in tax collection and compliance.”
“Government will aggressively mobilize additional sources of revenue by raising the revenue effort from the current ratio of 13% of GDP to 16% by Financial Year 2019/20,” he said.
The minister thus introduced a number of taxes that include a Shs 100 increase on the Excise Duty on both Petrol and Diesel.
The Minister also increased Excise Duty on soft cup cigarettes to Shs. 50,000/= per 1000 sticks and Hinge Lid cigarettes to Shs. 80,000/= per 1000 sticks.
The tax on sweets and confectionaries was also elevated by 20%.
Registration Fees for personalized number plates were increased by 400% from 5,000,000/= to Shs. 20,000,000.
Meanwhile the minister announced further measures to enhance capacity for tax administration
These include the completion of establishment of One Stop Border posts (OSBPs) at Malaba, Mutukula, Busia, and Mirama Hills border points to facilitate faster and simplified clearance of goods at border posts.