A section of Lango leaders and locals are opposing the government’s proposal to increase taxes on citizens to raise shs4.8 trillion in the 2026/27 financial year.
The government of Uganda plans to increase taxes on several essential items used by households, including an increase of shs3,500 on alcohol, shs200 per liter of petrol and diesel, shs300 on a kilogram of sugar, and shs1,000 on cement.
These proposals also include a 30 percent tax on the purchase of used clothes (mivumba), a 3 percent tax on land title acquisitions, and a 0.25 percent tax on withdrawing or sending money via Mobile Money, as well as an increase of shs50,000 to shs200,000 for new vehicle number plates.
The Woman Member of Parliament for Amolatar district, Dr. Agnes Atim Apea, stated that the taxes the government intends to levy on citizens will worsen the burden of poverty because they increase the cost of living for households.
An economist, Dr. Apea noted that tax rates are rising because the government is not investing money in high-priority areas, leading to high national debt. She urged citizens to hold their leaders accountable for how the collected taxes are being utilised.
Dr. Atim Apea added that the government should reduce wasteful spending on non-essential items to lower the tax burden and help Uganda reach middle-income status.
She pointed out that every financial year, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) fails to meet its collection targets because the rates are set too high, which ends up hurting the taxpayers.
The woman MP also called on the public to monitor the leaders they elected to represent them in Parliament, noting that tax issues require wise leaders who can challenge such government proposals in the House.
On the national debt, Alex Oboi, a resident of Okwang sub-county in Otuke district, said that for the country to prosper, the government must stop the constant habit of increasing taxes on its citizens, as this hinders business and national development.
He explained that these tax hikes mean the prices of essential goods will skyrocket in the new financial year, especially the price of fuel, which is the backbone of development in Uganda.
Oboi added that while the government passes strict laws to prevent environmental destruction and charcoal burning, the same government has increased taxes on cooking gas.
He argued that raising shs4.8 trillion through these taxes will be difficult because many people are already struggling with the existing tax burden.
For this reason, he appealed to Members of Parliament and elected leaders to reject these proposals, as that is the work they were elected to do.
These new proposals from the Ministry of Finance will be presented to Parliament for debate and then forwarded to the Finance Committee for scrutiny before a final decision is made.
Out of the shs4.8 trillion, the government intends to collect, shs2.3 trillion is expected to come from these new tax measures, while the remainder will be collected through existing systems used by the Uganda Revenue Authority.
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