By Naboth Isaac Niwagaba
apearlnews.com
The Outspoken Priest of Kitanga Parish in Kabale Diocese Rev. Fr. Gaetano Batanyenda has hailed the Finance Committee of Parliament for Rejecting the Proposed Car License.
The finance committee of parliament recently rejected the proposal by government to introduce an annual license of Ug.Shillings 200,000 and 50,000 for cars and motor cycles respectively.
The tax proposal was tabled by State Minister of finance and economic planning David Bahati while appearing before the committee on Tuesday last week. Bahati said that the move was intended to streamline the transport sector by getting rid of illegitimate cars and raising money for the maintenance of roads across the country.
However, while meeting different stakeholders to listen to their views on the new tax proposals, the Chairperson of the Finance Committee Henry Musasizi revealed that they had unanimously objected to the tax on vehicles.
While addressing the Press today, Fr. Gaetano who is also the Vice Chairperson Kick Corruption out Of Uganda hailed Musasizi and his committee for standing bold against what he described as “multiple taxation”. He said the Government had intentionally failed to put in consideration the “heavy taxes” already being paid by motor vehicle owners through fuel and other taxable materials like the driving licenses and spare parts.
However, Fr. Gaetano challenged the Finance Committee to remain steadfast and reject any other tax brought by government in bad faith. He noted that Government could be desperately looking for means of collecting money from citizens in order to reduce the debt burden.
While handing over his audit report for the Financial Year 2019/2020 to Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga last month, the Auditor General John Muwanga said Uganda’s public debt now stands at 41 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He added that if government acquires more loans, the debt will hit the 50 per cent cap of debt-to-GDP ratio which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) states as the limit.
