The role of public tax awareness to domestic revenue mobilisation in Uganda

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/AMTJ/2021/i1a15
• Citation: (2021) 1 AMTJ 261
• Date: 16 February 2021
• Pages: 261-277
• Published date: 16 February 2021
• Author: Masembe, M.

261

THE ROLE OF PUBLIC TAX AWARENESS TO DOMESTIC

REVENUE MOBILISATION IN UGANDA

LE RÔLE DE LA SENSIBILISATION À LA FISCALITÉ

PUBLIQUE À LA MOBILISATION DES RECETTES

NATIONALES EN OUGANDA

O PAPEL DA CONSCIENTIZAÇÃO DOS IMPOSTOS PÚBLICOS

PARA A MOBILIZAÇÃO DAS RECEITAS DOMÉSTICAS EM

UGANDA

Masembe Michael*

JEL classification: E62, H2

http s://doi.org/10.47348/AM TJ/2021/i1a15

ABSTRACT

Governme nts are weak at promoti ng and endorsing the ir gains and programme s. Taking

Uganda in context , this paper expl ored the curren t tools for public ta x awareness on

Domestic Re venue Mobilisati on (DRM), an of t-neglected a rea yet crucial for tax

revenue gene ration. The note o verviewe d the DRM initiat ives and the public t ax

awareness pro grammes in place t o promote them. Usin g content analysis, t he inquiry

noted gaps in the plan ning of public ta x awareness initi atives, which inf luence s the

execution, impa ct and appraisal of the campa igns, which in turn, affec ts the uptake of

DRM initiati ves. It calls for government a ccountability where al l government agencie s

use public tax awareness tools t o account for the ir plans and gain s. It furtherm ore

requires not leav ing accountability to the fin ance ministr y and the tax agen cy.

Highlighting suc cessful gover nment programme s courtesy of t ax revenue motivates

citizens aboard DR M. This paper therefore averred that c oncerted government publi c

relations will motivate citizenr y participation and support for DR M.

Keywords: public tax awareness, accountability, DRM, complianc e

RÉSUMÉ

Les gouver nements ne sont p as assez forts pour promouvoir et soute nir leurs acqu is

et leurs programm es. Prenant l’Ouga nda dans son conte xte, ce document ex plore les

outils actuel s de sensibilisati on du public à la mobili sation des recettes intérieur es

(MRI ), un domaine souvent négligé mais pourtant crucial p our la génération de

recettes f iscales. Le document pa sse en revue les initiative s en faveur de la MRI et les

programmes de sen sibilisation du public à la f iscalité mis en pla ce en vue de promouvoir

ces initiative s. En utilisant l’analyse du conten u, l’enquête relève des in suffisances

dans la planif ication des in itiatives de sensi bilisation du public à l a fiscalité, ce

qui affecte l’exécution, l’impact et l’évaluation d es campagnes, m ais également

l’adoption d’initiatives en faveu r de la MRI. I l appelle à la resp onsabilisation de s

* Team leader Tax Education, Uganda Revenue Authority: masembey@gmail.com

(2021) 1 AMTJ 261

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262 AFRICAN MULTIDISCIPLINARY TAX JOURNAL

gouverneme nts, dans la mesu re où tous les organismes publics u tilisent les outil s de

sensibilisatio n du public à la fiscalité pour rendre c ompte de leurs pl ans et de leurs

gains. Et de ne pas la isser la respon sabilité au ministè re des finan ces et à l’agence

fiscale. L a mise en éviden ce des programme s gouverneme ntaux réussis g râce aux

recettes f iscales motive les citoyens à s’engager dan s la MRI. Ce do cument aff irme

que les relation s publiques gouverneme ntales concertée s motivent la participatio n et le

soutien des citoyens à la MRI.

Mots-clé s: sensibilisation du public à la fiscalité, responsabilisation, MRI,

discipline fiscale

ABSTRATO

Os governos são f racos na promoção e endosso dos seus ganhos e programas.

Tomando o Uganda como cont exto, este documento explora os actua is instrument os

de conscientização tributá ria pública sob re a Mobilização de Receitas Domésticas

(DRM), uma á rea frequenteme nte negligenc iada, mas cru cial para a geração d e

receitas tr ibutárias. A n ota traça um panoram a das iniciativa s de DRM e dos

programas de con scientização t ributária p ública em vigor pa ra a sua promoção.

Utilizando a análi se de conteúdo, o inqué rito assinala l acunas no planeamento de

iniciativas de conscientizaç ão tributár ia pública, o que af ecta a execuçã o, impacto

e avaliação da s campanhas, o que afecta a adopçã o de iniciativas de DRM. Insta

à responsabiliza ção do governo qu ando todas as agê ncias gover namentais utilizam

ferramenta s de conscient ização tributá ria pública pa ra prestar conta s sobre os seus

planos e ganhos. E que nã o deixem a respon sabilização a car go do Ministério

das Finanç as e da agência tr ibutária. S alientar programas governamentais bem-

sucedidos, graça s às receitas tr ibutária s, motiva os cidadãos em mat éria de DRM.

Este document o afirma que as relaçõ es públicas governa mentais coordenadas mo tivam

a participação dos cidadãos e o apo io à DRM.

Palavras-chave: conscientização tr ibutária públi ca, responsabilização, DRM,

conformidade

I INTRODUCTION

A low tax to gross domestic product (GDP) rat io translates to sustained

donor dependence for a developing count ry. To curtail the t rend, in

July 2015 the Addis Tax In itiative (ATI) coined the Domestic Revenue

Mobilisat ion (DRM) strat egy (ICC, 2017). The strategy a ims to enhance

efforts towards mobilising and using domestic revenue with a purpose1

to enhance tax fair ness, transparency, build efficiency and effectiveness

of tax systems for countries.

1 https://www.foodbusinessafrica.com/uganda-manufacturers-pushes-for-suspension-of-

digital-tax-stamps/.

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