INTRODUCTION

The charging policy of Kaliro District Local Government lays down the principals upon which the different taxes and fees in use in Kaliro are based.

This charging policy is aimed at protecting taxpayers from unnecessary harassment and over taxation by Revenue officers while guarding the District Local Revenue targets in focus and will aid the taxpayers to plan their tax obligation in advance. The charging policy will lay down the principals and guidance upon which different taxes and fees in Kaliro District Local Government.  The policy details the tax base rates, grades of markets, urban and trading centers etc.

The policy eliminates ambiguities and arbitrariness in assessment, and greatly reduces the use of Revenue officers’ discretion in tax administration.

Chapter 11 Article 189 of the constitution of the Republic of Uganda and section 30 to 31 of the Local Government Act Cap 243 lays down a long list of the mandatory services which a District Council is mandated to provide to her residents exemplified in the second schedule part 2 of the Act under decentralization policy.

In accordance to section 80, power to levy taxes of the Local Government Act Cap 243 as amended is specified in the fifth schedule of this Act, the local government revenue regulations, which include; user fees, trading licenses and user permits, fees and fines, market and gate charges, rent and rates and property related taxes among others.

 It’s on this legal mandate that Council under Dec Motions Minute No, 112/KDLG/05/2023 as attached approved the present charging policy for Kaliro District Local Government designed to facilitate the 2023/2024 budget execution, secondly most of the rates to be used were approved under statutory instrument No.2 of 2017 of Ministry of Trade  passed by the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda together with other regulatory framework which include the Local Governments Act  Cap 243 as Amended, the building control Act 2021, the Local governments Rating Act of 2006 which we must  customize for use in Kaliro District Local Government.

Furthermore, the charges related to land transactions are stipulated in the land Act, but Council can charge other fees from applicants basing on assessment of the value of the land to be offered and land fees should also significantly can contribute to the local revenue basket in the district.

Any anticipated increase in local revenue will be as a result of increased efficiency in collection through setting up realistic and measurable targets for Lower Local Governments. This shall be accompanied by putting in place strong controls aimed at closing most of the loopholes in the revenue collection and accounting system. The migration of local revenue registration, assessment and payment shall be shifted to the digital platform of IRAS introduced by the Local Governments Finance Commission introduced to improve local revenue management and accountability effective 1st July 2023. this is geared towards improving local revenue performance.