The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has explained that election disruptions caused its revenue shortfall for the second half of 2025.
Between July and December 2025, URA collected Shs16.476 trillion, falling short of the target of Shs17.5 trillion. This resulted in 94.09% of the planned revenue.
Denis Kugonza Kateeba, Commissioner for Domestic Taxes at URA, presented the figures during the 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper before Parliament’s Finance Committee.
He stated that election-related disruptions briefly slowed down URA’s operations. These interruptions allowed political mobilization to take place.
“The total revenue collection was Shs16.476 trillion against a target of Shs17.5 trillion,” Kugonza said.
“These shortfalls mainly stemmed from the second-quarter election disruptions, where URA reduced activities to allow political parties to mobilize citizens and support the economy.”
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Kugonza added that some taxpayers reduced or paused their operations during the election season. This further contributed to the shortfall.
“Some taxpayers slowed down their activities. However, we are confident that between January and June 2026, we will recover quickly and close the deficit,” he said.
Despite these challenges, URA reported significant progress in recovering tax arrears. It collected Shs186 billion through arrears management and alternative dispute resolution, along with Shs274 billion from completed cases.
These efforts helped mitigate the impact of electoral disruptions on revenue performance.
Customs enforcement operations also faced challenges. Between July and December 2025, URA recovered Shs41 billion, which was short of its target of Shs61 billion.
Kugonza explained that enforcement slowed due to the ongoing election period.
“Just as with domestic tax collections, the electoral activities slowed enforcement operations,” he said.
“This adjustment allowed URA to modify its actions while citizens were mobilized for taxation.”
URA remains hopeful that it will address the shortfall in the coming months.
“We believe that in the next cycle, from January to June 2026, we will recover the deficit and meet our targets,” Kugonza said.
