The Ministry of Finance has committed Ush150 billions of which Ushs100.5 billion is supplementary expenditure to cater for salary enhancement for teaching staff in primary and secondary schools across the country.
This, according to the Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Keith Muhakanizi is aimed at averting industrial actions that are exhibited by teachers asking for salary enhancement.
Teaching and Non-teaching staff at public universities will also benefit from the committed Ush150 billion.
Muhakanizi said this while releasing the quarter two expenditure for the Financial Year 2019/2020 at the Ministry of Finance offices.
The Ush150 billion salary enhancement commitment comes as a huge relief to teachers under their umbrella organization the Uganda National Teachers’ Union, who have, since 2011 been demanding a salary increment of 10%.
The overall revenue target FY 2019/20 is UGX 20,448.73 billion. This was broken down into tax revenue of UGX 18,877.30 billion and NTR of 1.57 billion.
Muhakanizi also said that there was a deficit of UGX 22.96 billion on excise duty on spirits occasioned by government’s policy to ban sachets and the minimum limit of packaging to 200ml. This has made spirits more expensive especially for value consumers hence negatively impacting the volume of sales.
Income taxes collections were UGX 1,542.61 billion against the target of UGX 1,620.78 billion registering a deficit of UGX 78.17 billion. Rental income Tax (UGX 32.38 billion) and Corporate Income Tax (UGX 32.67 billion).
There has also been a reduction in the price charged to make calls of about 40% from UGX 5 per second to UGX 3 per second. This has led to a decline in the value of sales and revenue hence the shortfalls in Excise duty and VAT on phone talk time.
Production of beer reduced by 6.49 million litres while sales reduced by 4.51 million litres in the first four months of FY 2019/20 compared to the same period last year.
The deficits of UGX 20.52 billion and UGx 5.79 billion on 0.5% duty on the value of mobile money transactions and 15% excise duty on mobile money charges are on account of a drop in the number and value of high-value mobile money transactions.
The deficit of UGX 32.38 billion in rental income tax is attributed to the delay in the awarding of a contract to RippleNami Inc. The Rental register is currently 22,189 rental taxpayers compared to 21,747 for the period 2018/19, growth in the register of 442 newly taxpayers.
