The Democratic Party Cautions Government, Calls for Immediate Dialogue with Disgruntled Traders
The **Democratic Party** has cautioned the Government to treat the on-going demonstration by traders as a **priority**, calling for **immediate dialogue** between Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the disgruntled business community.
Speaking at the party headquarters in Kampala, **Ismail Kirya** the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) President highlighted the implications of failure by the government to handle the traders’ grievances swiftly.
“URA won’t be able to get taxes. What we shall lose in the country today is very huge compared to what the Government would have given the traders not to strike,” he said.
The multiplier effect in business is an aspect that Ismail emphasized, revealing that so many people have been affected due to the closure of businesses countrywide.
“We have middlemen who direct the business people on what to purchase. How about the people who help us to carry the commodities when we buy them?” he remarked.
He further pointed out that due to the joblessness of the people in the business chain caused by the strike, the Government should not be surprised when the crime rate in the country increases as people will be looking for alternative means of survival.
According to Ismail, dialogue should be immediately undertaken as a way to find a solution to URA and the traders. “URA should have a serious discussion with the various business bodies like **Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA)** and the others, “he appealed.
Ismail lauded the traders for opting to use peaceful but effective means demonstrating like shop closure, with formal arrangements like petitions proving to be futile over the years.
The strike by the traders comes just days after Ramathan Ggoobi, the Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary and secretary to the treasury re-affirmed that the **EFRIS system** is **‘here to stay’** and that the government will crack down on anyone who evades taxes.
Traders are Unaware of Taxes
**John Bosco Muzanganda**, the aspiring mayor of Kampala under the DP Party attributed the strike to lack of sensitization of the new tax systems like the **Electronic Fiscal Reporting and Invoicing System (EFRIS)**.
“URA under the tax procedure code are supposed to teach and educate people on how the taxes are imposed on them. However, up to now, traders are still clueless about them, especially the new ones” he affirmed.
Muzanganda revealed that URA has focused more on imposing penalties and fines on the traders, which leaves them angry and dissatisfied with how they are treated.
The fact that traders have to use their own data to access the online business portal increases on the already high costs levied on the traders, with Muzanganda appealing to URA to engage with the relevant stakeholders to make it accessible for the business community.
On-going Strike
Today, the city traders operating under various associations led by KACITA among others have demonstrated against URA’s move to enforce the usage of EFRIS for **Value Added Tax (VAT)** collection in their businesses.
Many of the shops around the city arcades are closed, with only a few such as butchery operators opening having removed their meat for storage purposes along Nabugabo street. The strike has scaled up countrywide, with reports of traders paralysing business in Iganga.
The EFRIS tax system which is the centre of debate leading up to the strike that was developed by URA to basically using electronic fiscal devices (EFDs), ensure e-invoicing and direct communication with business transaction systems to realise issuance of e-receipts and e-invoices in accordance with the Tax Procedures Act of 2014.