By Marvin Ocol

Yesterday, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) launched a Client Service Charter. The Charter is based on the three Core Values of Patriotism, Integrity and Professionalism.

According to URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi, the document is a commitment to serve taxpayers with Patriotism, Integrity and Professionalism.

“We commit to serve our valued taxpayers efficiently so that there is no taxpayer who will come to our offices and leave with a disappointed face. There is no reason we should ask you to come back tomorrow for services that we can offer you today. Instead of telling you to come back tomorrow, we are changing that. We are telling you, wait around for 5 to 10 minutes, we will pick up our cellphone, call the officer who received your request, we will ask him to do the needful and feed your documents in the system so that you can go back with your TIN. This is the new part that we are committing to you,” said Musinguzi.

He added that: “Hold us accountable for the commitment in this Charter. We want our taxpayers to read this document and hold us accountable. We should deliver as in the charter and if we don’t, hold us accountable. URA is going an extra mile to committing an efficient service to our taxpayer and this is the standard service charter.”

Musinguzi says that URA is aware that it is not easy for a taxpayer to part with some of their income but he says that it is the right thing to do because a nation cannot grow unless it is able to collect enough revenue to run all the programs of government.

The CG adds, it is only through every citizen paying their fair share of tax that “we will develop our nation.”

To the taxpayer, Musinguzi says “We also want you to make a commitment that going forward, you will pay your taxes honorably and your declarations will be true so that together we can develop our nation.”