Economists say Ugandan 2019/2020 budget unrealistic
Just a day after Parliament approved the 34 trillion shilling budget for the 2019/2020 financial year, economists says the set target for Uganda Revenue authority, is unrealistic. The taxman has a target of raising 18 trillion shillings, which according to Ramathan Ggoobi, an economist is a huge task from the narrow tax base. Ggoobi now says it is time for government to check the lavish expenditures.
Uganda’s budget has been increasing over the years. The next budget has shot from 32 trillion shillings in the running financial year to 34 trillion shillings in the 2019/2020 financial year.
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But this is expected to be collected from the almost the same tax base. And amidst the current economic status, questions arise where ministry of finance expects to get the 34.3 trillion shillings to finance development projects.
The budget usually gives proposal with the current one siting borrowing and the tax body collecting 18 trillion. Ibrahima Semujju Nganda
Kiira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda notes that the increase in the budget is only shown in digits but not in the real things the budget intends to finance.
He argues that, "The digits are to confuse people but the actual money that is going to do things benefiting people are minimal."
To Ramathan Ggoobi an economist at Makerere University Business School, government is setting unrealistic targets for URA. The tax body is expected to collect 18 trillion shillings in the next financial year, yet they still struggling to raise the 16 trillion shillings.
He adds that every year, government is increasing its appetite for money without looking at the kind of economy they are running.
This means URA is going to distress the few that who pay taxes as they struggle to mean the set target. Goobi
Goobi says this is the time government needed to find means of how they can give a hand to the sector players in the economy since they are the same and very few.
For now Ugandans and the private sector have been advised to brace for more taxes.
