The Uganda Revenue Authority has urged consumers to demand receipts for the goods and services they procure as it institutes new measures to increase the number of people who pay tax.
Asadu Kigozi, the manager arrears and enforcement at URA, said soon, it will become difficult for consumers who buy goods without a receipt to get help in case they get a problem with such goods.
According to URA, not many Ugandans appreciate the value of receipts yet they help in ensuring compliance among taxpayers and also assuring customers of safety of products they buy in shops or supermarkets.
Kigozi said in any business, issuance of a receipt comes with a number of advantages that businesses need to exploit.
But even though there is no law that compels a seller to issue a receipt for any transactions, Kigozi said this needs to change.
For retail businesses that fail in the category of presumptive tax, the receipt system offers a lifeline in easing payments without hurting anyone’s business.
Kigozi said for anyone who provides the tax authority with information about business that dodge taxes by not issuing receipts, the whistle-blower shall get 10% of the recovered tax.
The tax body is currently working on implementing an electronic billing system.
Doris Akol, the commissioner general of URA, said the authority is in the process of expanding the tax register to ensure that whoever does business is registered not only for business purposes but also and mainly for tax purposes. She also implored the business community to always issue receipts to their customers. The receipts, she emphasized, should bear the Tax Identification Number known as the TIN.
