UGANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY EMPOWERS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ON TAX COMPLIANCE AND BUSINESS GROWTH

Women during the engagement at Tropical Suites Hotel (photo by Onzoma Albert)

By Onzoma Albert

Arua

Women have been encouraged to leverage government programs and collaborate with URA to better understand tax operations and their responsibilities as taxpayers.

This appeal was made by Rita Muzira, head of public relations at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) commissioner general’s office, during a Regional Women’s Conference at Tropical Suites Hotel in Arua City organized to engage women leaders and businesswomen from thirteen districts within the West Nile sub-region.

According to her, URA shares her mandate with women on their rights and obligations as tax payers, record keeping and formalization of their businesses because there is need to bring the women from being a small taxpayers to a bigger enterprise where they can contribute more.

The conference, themed “Beyond Her Tax Returns: Comply and Thrive,” aimed to highlight the importance of tax compliance as a driver of business growth, personal empowerment, and community wealth creation, as part of URA’s ongoing efforts to foster a strong relationship with female taxpayers by promoting constructive dialogue and tailored support.

Rt. Maj Betty Akello Otekat, the Resident City Commissioner of Arua, urged women to adhere to tax compliance to secure a prosperous future for their businesses.

“A complaint women is a financially unstoppably force. If you want to have secure and long lasting business, you must be a compliant woman on paying your tax obligations,” she said.

Arua Citty RCC, Police PRO, URA PRO and participants dancing on the stage during the engagement (Photo by Albert Onzoma)

Participants like SSP Josephine Angucia, the police Public Relations Officer for West Nile, noted that the training was timely, to help women understand URA’s operations and mandate.

“Many times people view URA negatively always thinking that URA is here to inconvenience them, to mistreat them and to take their money. But, if URA will continue to engage the business community and the general public it will change the mindset of people from viewing URA from negative perspective to a positive one” she said.

Claire Sanyu, overseeing stakeholder engagement in Northern Uganda, praised the over 200 women who attended, urging adherence to tax regulations to avoid liabilities and penalties.

“We are looking at how to empower women and we want to hear their challenges such that we can come with better programs to support the women. I want to also implore the public to avoid engaging in running battle with URA instead they should adhere, comply and behave so that it doesn’t injure us in any way in terms life, liabilities and penalties,” Sanyu appealed.

The forum brought together women involved in sectors such as cross-border trade and agriculture with discussions focusing on compliance obligations, access to tax incentives, and strategies for business formalization.