KAMPALA, UGANDA – The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has reported a significant shortfall in revenue collections for the first half of the 2025/26 financial year, attributing the gap largely to disruptions caused by the ongoing 2025-2026 election activities.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Appearing before Parliament’s Finance Committee, Denis Kugonza Kateeba, the Commissioner for Domestic Taxes, disclosed that the tax body collected UGX 16.476 trillion between July and December 2025.
He stated that the amount collected fell short of the UGX 17.5 trillion target, representing a 94.09% performance rate. He attributed the shortfall largely to election disruptions that slowed both URA operations and economic activity.
“The total revenue collection was UGX 16.476 trillion against a target of UGX 17.5 trillion, registering a performance of 94.09%. This was due to election-related interruptions during the second quarter, where URA slowed down some activities to allow political parties to mobilize their supporters and also because of a general slowdown in the economy,” stated Commissioner Kateeba.
The Commissioner explained that the Authority deliberately scaled back certain enforcement and collection activities during the heightened political period to avoid conflict and allow for civic processes.
He attributed the revenue gap to the combined effect of the Authority’s operational slowdown and a dip in taxpayer activity but expressed strong confidence in a rapid recovery to eliminate the deficit in the latter half of the financial year.
Despite the election-related shortfall, URA’s presentation highlighted successful revenue mobilization in other areas, particularly through legal and administrative measures to recover outstanding tax arrears.
The Authority recovered UGX 186 billion via intensified arrears management and dispute resolution, with a further UGX 274 billion coming from successfully concluded tax cases.
Customs enforcement operations recovered UGX 41 billion, though this was below the UGX 61 billion target, a performance officials also linked to moderated activities during the election period.
Commissioner Kateeba said the URA will focus on enhancing compliance and driving growth by fast-tracking dispute resolutions, boosting staff training, and intensifying post-election recovery efforts to close the deficit.
About the Author
