Uganda Revenue Authority

The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is a government revenue collection agency established by the Parliament of Uganda. Operating under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the URA is responsible for enforcing, assessing, collecting, and accounting for the various taxes imposed in Uganda.[3]

For the Kampala soccer team please see Uganda Revenue Authority SC.
Uganda Revenue Authority
Agency overview
Formed1991 (1991)
JurisdictionGovernment of Uganda
HeadquartersURA House, Nakawa, Kampala, Uganda
Employees2,900+ (2015)[1]
Agency executives
Parent agencyUganda Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Websitewww.ura.go.ug

Location

URA's headquarters is located in a 22-storey skyscraper, known as Uganda Revenue Authority Tower (URA Tower), located at Plot M 193/4 Kinnawataka Road, Nakawa Industrial Area, in the Nakawa Division of the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.[4][5] This is about 6 kilometres (4 mi), by road, east of the city center.[6] The coordinates of the agency's headquarters are 0°19'48.0"N 32°37'10.0"E (Latitude:0.330000; Longitude:32.619444).[4]

History

Allen Kagina was charged with eliminating corruption in the URA when she was appointed commissioner general in 2004. Minister of Information Rose Namayanja said, "Under the leadership of Ms Allen Kagina, we have successfully cleaned URA and tax collections on a year-to-year basis have gone up. The situation is not as bad as it used to be." According to the Daily Monitor, this view was shared by the president of Uganda.[7]

Overview

In 1991, when URA was established, tax collection was 6.83% of GDP, amounting to UGX:133 billion. In 2015, taxes collected were 13% of GDP, amounting to UGX:11.2 trillion. URA targets to increase tax collection to at least 16% of GDP by 2020.[8]

Administration

On 27 October 2014, Ugandan Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka appointed lawyer Doris Akol as commissioner general for the next five years.[9] She replaced Kagina, who retired after two consecutive five-year terms at the helm of the URA.[10] To accommodate the majority of its staff in one location, URA built a 22-storey tower adjacent to its headquarters at Nakawa, completed in 2018,[11] and officially commissioned in January 2019.[12]

Director Generals

The table below illustrates the Director Generals of the authority since its inception in 1991.[13]

Director Generals Uganda Revenue Authority Since Inception
RankDirector GeneralFromUntilNotes
1Edward Larbi Siaw19911997[13]
2Elly Rwakakooko19972000[13]
3Stephen Besweri Akabway20002001In Acting capacity[13]
4Annebritt Aslund20012004[13]
5Allen Kagina20042014[13]
6Doris Akol20142020[13]
7John Musinguzi Rujoki2020present[13]

Board of directors

The government agency is supervised by a seven-person board of directors, who are appointed by the Ugandan minister of finance.[14] As of June 2020, the table below illustrates the composition of the URA Board of Directors.


Members of the Board of Directors of Uganda Revenue Authority
RankNamelRoleOther RolesNotes
1Juma KisaameChairmanFormer CEO of DFCU Bank[2]
2John Musinguzi RujokiCommissioner-general[15]
3Patience Tumusiime RubagumyaBoard SecretaryURA Commissioner for Legal and Board Affairs[16]
4Keith MuhakaniziSecretary to Treasury[14]
5Julius OnenPS Ministry of Trade & IndustryFormer Ambassador[14]
6Loy TumusiimeMember[17]
7Nicholas OkwirMemberFormer CEO of Housing Finance Bank[14]

See also

References
  1. Michael Kanaabi (8 June 2015). "URA Boss Doris Akol Promotes Transparency". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. Paul Ampurire (23 March 2020). "Former DFCU Bank MD, Juma Kisaame Is New Chair Of URA's Board". Kampala: SoftPower Uganda. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. Ismail Musa Ladu (7 June 2016). "Uganda revenue collection supressed [sic] by narrow tax base". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. Google (6 February 2019). "Location of Headquarters of Uganda Revenue Authority" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  5. Pat Robert Larubi (5 December 2018). "URA Headquarters To Move Into New Building In January". Kampala: SoftPower Uganda.
  6. Globefeed.com (15 October 2016). "Distance between Post Office Building, Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda and Uganda Revenue Authority, Kampala, Uganda". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  7. Mugerwa, Yasiin (10 April 2014). "AG unearths graft at URA". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  8. Jonathan Adengo (7 October 2016). "URA Tasked To Increase Revenue To Shs34 Trillion". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  9. Monitor, Reporter (27 October 2014). "Doris Akol Appointed Kagina's Replacement At URA". Daily Monitor (Kampala). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  10. Yasiin Mugerwa, and Ismail Musa Ladu (24 July 2014). "URA Boss Kagina Leaves Office This October". Daily Monitor (Kampala). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  11. Bernard Busuulwa (24 September 2016). "High-end office space in high demand in Uganda". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  12. Paul Ampurire (20 January 2019). "Museveni Commissions Shs139 Billion URA Tower, Talks Tough On Bureaucracy". Kampala: Softpower Uganda. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  13. "The story of URA and why Doris Akol had to be sacked". Daily Monitor. Kampala. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  14. Frederic Musisi (15 January 2017). "Government Doubles Pay for URA Board Members". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  15. SoftPower Uganda (2 April 2020). "New Era At URA As Musinguzi Rujoki Assumes Office As 6th Commissioner General". Kampala: SoftPower Uganda. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  16. Daily Monitor (4 February 2015). "Ms Rubagumya has worked for the Authority for 14 years". Kampala: Ugandanewsreleases.com Quoting Daily Monitor. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  17. Uganda Revenue Authority (2016). "Board Members for Financial Year 2016/2017" (PDF). Kampala: Uganda Revenue Authority. Retrieved 3 June 2020.

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