KAMPALA, Uganda–The government of Uganda has proposed to exempt Bibles and Qurans from Value Added Tax.
The proposed exemption come at a time when parliament is in the process of amending the value added tax (amendment) Bill 2018.
Presenting the Committee report to the house, the Chair of the committee on finance, planning and economic development, Hon. Musasizi Henry, Member of Parliament representing Rubanda East said that nearly all Bibles and Qur’ans which are used in the Country are imported into Uganda as donations.
He said This exemption will provide relief to donors and the religious bodies which provide more of Bibles and Qur’ans for furtherance of the objectives of their organrzations.
However, some MPs asked him to clarify if the exemption on VAT applys only on Bibles and Qurans and not other religious books, which MPs believe should be exempted since they all fall in the same category.
The VAT exemption is also extended to movie production. Musasizi said the exemption on movie production is intended to promote production of movies in Uganda which has other benefits such as employment creation as well as promotion of the image of the country, local content and tourism.
