The government and multinational companies have been named the biggest tax evaders in Uganda.
According to the Executive Secretary African Tax Administration Forum, Mr Logan Wort, the contribution of the government in tax related fraud in Uganda is significant although the private sector still leads the margin by 60 per cent.
A source within Uganda Revenue Authority told Daily Monitor that tax fraud is estimated to be not less than Shs4 trillion annually.
According to the source, who preferred anonymity, losses accrued from the telecom industry for example, due to irregular taxation methods, is about Shs3 trillion while in the oil and gas industry, it is not less than Shs2 trillion annually.
However, the URA boss, Ms Allen Kagina, told Daily Monitor that she could not quantify the extent of the problem, saying there is no tool that can accurately determine the extent of loss caused by government and multinational company.
The recently released 2011 Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report indicates that on average, developing countries lose between $725 billion to $810 billion per year through illicit outflows.
These are illicit transfers of the proceeds of bribery, theft, kickbacks, trade mispricing and tax evasion.
In Africa, tax fraud and corruption by both taxpayers (business) and officials are reported in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and most other African states.
To deal with the above issues, a four-day conference on tax fraud investigation was on Monday commissioned by Ms Kagina and Mr Logan with a view of finding a solution to challenges posed by tax fraud in the region.
“This conference seeks, amongst others, to encourage dialogue and the sharing of information on how to combat serious tax evasion and avoidance in Africa. The conference is designed to facilitate the sharing of best practices and challenges, identify common tax issues and jointly develop solutions unique to the African environment,” Mr Wort said.
Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug
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