By John Rujoki Musinguzi

There is a fiscal and social contract between the taxman and the taxpayers. This contract is two-way and must be initiated by the taxman to build the trust much needed by the taxpayer to improve the tax morale and culture through several initiatives.

We must strengthen and clarify the links between revenue and expenditure. Positive public perceptions of government, public institutions and services may increase tax compliance and revenues.

We should strive to make taxes simpler to pay. Firstly, through taxpayer education on why and how to pay tax as well as increased use of technology to simplify the process of paying taxes and increase the integrity of African tax systems.

We need to further increase the transparency of tax policy making and modernize tax administration procedures.

We must advocate for better public service delivery to show how governments turn tax revenues into beneficial expenditures. This offers a double dividend of the intrinsic benefit of the service provided & spillover benefit from public satisfaction generated by its provision.

We should understand the informal sector better through engagements and dialogue on tax issues. There are gender implications for the taxation of this sector as well, given that women particularly in developing countries, disproportionately work informally.

We should understand the informal sector better through engagements and dialogue on tax issues. There are gender implications for the taxation of this sector as well, given that women particularly in developing countries, disproportionately work informally.

We should align efforts in different areas to avoid negative interactions among the drivers of compliance: the different factors that influence compliance behavior also influence each other.

At URA, we are deliberate on boosting the taxpayers’ morale through facilitating the taxpayer and building trust to make compliance as easy as possible. We are doing this by automating our services, enhancing taxpayer education, and being accessible.

I also shared with my peers that we have increased taxpayer monitoring through deep audits, intel-led investigation and data analysis to detect tax evasion and ensure that everyone pays their share of tax.

I believe that building trust underscores the importance of tax morale in enhancing tax compliance. Building trust also addresses the role of ethics, social norms & views about the fairness, equity, reciprocity, and accountability of tax systems in enhancing tax compliance.

The writer is the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority – URA.