Taxation in Uganda has been mandated to a central Government semi-autonomous body – Uganda Revenue Authority and there are a number of laws through which residents and non-residents are taxed. These among others include;

• Income Tax Act (ITA)
• The Value Added Tax (VAT)
• Stamps Act
• The Traffic and Road Safety Act
• East African Community Customs Management Act (imports and exports).

A resident individual is a person who has a permanent home in Uganda; or is present in Uganda for a period of 183 days or more during the financial year or an average of 122 days over 2 financial years . A non-resident is therefore the opposite of a resident. A resident company is one which; is incorporated in Uganda under the laws of Uganda; is managed or controlled in Uganda at any time during the financial year; undertakes majority of its operations in Uganda during the. A resident partnership is one where any of the partners was a resident person in Uganda during the financial year.

SUMMARY OF RATES THAT APPLY TO VARIOUS DOMESTIC TAX TYPES

Income Tax is imposed on a person’s taxable income at specific rates. A person under the ITA includes; an individual, a company, partnership, trustee, government and subdivision of government. Income Tax is charged on every person who has chargeable income (comprising business, employment and property) for each year of income. Chargeable Income is the GROSS INCOME of a person for the year of income less total deductions allowed under the ITA while Gross Income is the total amount of business, employment and property income other than exempt income.There are two categories of persons under the ITA, resident and non-residents.

PAYE (PAY AS YOU EARN)
PAYE tax should be deducted at source by the employer and remitted monthly to URA. Employees who pay PAYE and have no other source of income do not need to complete an annual tax return.

CORPORATE INCOME TAX
Resident and non resident companies – 30% of profits after deducting expenses
Mining Companies – Ranges between 25% and 45% of profits
Trustee Companies – 30% of Income
Retirement Fund – 30% of income
Branches are taxed at 30% and there is an
additional tax of 15% which effectively applies to profits repatriated to head office

WITHHOLDING TAX
i) Professional fees
Residents
A resident person who pays management or professional fees to a resident professional is required to withhold tax at a rate of 6% of the gross payment.
Non residents
Withholding tax is imposed on every non-resident person deriving incomeunder a Ugandan – source service contract. This is a contract under which the principle purpose is the performance of services which gives rise to income sourced in Uganda, and any goods supplied under the contract are only incidental to the purpose. A Ugandan-sourced service contract does not include an employment contract. The tax is charged at a rate of 15% of the gross amount of any payment to the non-resident under the Ugandan sourced service contract.
Any person who enters into any service contract with a non-resident is required, within 30 days of entering into the contract, to notify the Commissioner of the nature and duration of the service contract, and disclose the particulars of the non-resident to whom the payment is to be made, as well as the full contract value.
Basing on this, the Commissioner may require the payer to withhold the relevant tax at a rate specified in the Commissioner notice

ii) Interest payments
A resident person who pays interest to another resident person is required to withhold tax at 15% of the gross amount of the interest paid.This withholding tax is not applicable where interest is paid by a natural person, interest, other than interest from government securities, paid to a financial institution, interest is paid by a company to an associated company or interest paid is exempt from tax in the hands of the recipient.

iii) Dividends

A resident Company which pays a dividend to a resident shareholder is required to withhold tax at 15% of the gross amount of the dividend paid, except where the dividend income is exempt from tax in the hands of the shareholder. Where the shareholder is a natural person (resident individual), the tax withheld on such dividend income is final.

iv) International payments
Tax is imposed on every non-resident person who derives any dividend, interest, royalty, rent, natural resource payment or management charge from sources in Uganda. The tax is withheld by the payer at a rate of 15% of the gross amount before payment/remittance of the amount is made. However interest paid abroad by a resident person is exempt from tax if:

Borrowing is through debentures which were widely issued for purposes of raising loan capital to carry out business in Uganda; and

Borrowing is made from a financial Institution of a public character

v) Non Resident entertainers or sports persons
Tax is imposed on the income derived in Uganda by every non-resident entertainer, sports person, or theatrical, musical or other related groups of entertainers. The tax is charged at a rate of 15% of the gross amount of the remuneration derived by the public entertainer/sports person. Where the tax is levied on a group, every member of the group is jointly and severally liable for payment of the tax.

The URA helpline is an excellent source of
information 0800117000