The Uganda Government should consider lowering the Taxes

Taxation is the claim of ownership over the life and labour of other people. At best this is extortion. No one should have a right to the life, labour, or property of another person, and no badge, or title, or government decree should change this fact. Regardless of how one tries to justify it one cannot escape the reality that taxation is theft backed with the threat of violence or harm for failure to pay, not much better in nature than the operations of organized crime. Theft is evil. Therefore, taxation is evil, whether it’s “necessary” or not.

Imagine an organization telling you that you need to give them money every month, if you don’t, they will drag you out from your house and lock you up. Sounds almost like the Mafia, right? Well, this is exactly what the government does. When the government levies taxes on your house and land, it means it owns them, not you.

Some people argue that Taxation is a necessary attribute of having governmental services, and some of those services are rather vital to having health, prosperity, freedom, and safety. And part of me would like to go with that argument, but most of the taxes paid don’t necessarily benefit the people that need them most. So, I have no problem paying taxes when they provide a returned benefit to society. In Denmark they pay a lot of tax, but most people are ok because the cities are super clean and efficient, education is free from kindergarten to university for a PhD, people can get medical care at dirt-cheap prices, the unemployment benefits are substantial, maternity leaves are long, e.t.c.

Under the circumstances we all live in, with our government being the epitome of evil, I would suggest not only charging high taxes, but paying taxes is immoral. As Australian media magnate Kerry Packer put it, "Pay the Government what you owe them, but don't tip them; they don't spend it well enough".

Don’t get me wrong here, I love beautiful roads, and it felt nice to drive on Entebbe Express when I visited Uganda in 2022- It saved me a lot of time whenever we drove to our family home in Nansana. But I think private Chinese companies that built that road should be allowed to directly manage it.

I don’t see the problem paying a private company directly if you take into consideration the amount of money you pay in taxes and fees to drive on inefficiently managed government owned roads to begin with. Private roads could also function like a trust and still be allowed to use for non-paying members if they aren’t abusing them. The hypothetical nightmare of tolls everywhere that you are worried about is a worst-case scenario. It’s a genuine concern but I’d like to imagine its practical application.

With the direction of the bureaucratic organization and planning they have no incentive to fix the roads because they’re being paid regardless of if drivers are destroying their cars on potholes. They are not held accountable. I think it would reduce costs because paying directly for a service would cut managerial costs.

If private ownership of roads replaced government ownership there would be no justification for a fuel tax. I don’t think a private road company would exploit the motorist because if they didn’t agree with the service they could choose a different supplier. As long as the government has a monopoly on roadways, we cannot change a supplier even if we are dissatisfied with the quality of service.

The money saved on paying fuel tax would be voluntarily invested in infrastructure and I think the system would be more attuned to the needs of motorists. There would be transparency and accountability. The government often takes funds from fuel tax and diverts it to other state funded programs that have nothing to do with the construction or maintenance of roads while running up billion-dollar shortfalls. A private company wouldn’t have the means to be that wasteful. If the government runs a deficit, they increase taxes or divert funds from another program. Because of their monopoly status there’s no incentive to be efficient with all that money and no accountability.

At the end of the day, it's this simple, citizens should be able to control every single penny they earn and how they choose to spend that money. If they want to contribute to maintaining roads, bridges, and highways, then that's fine. I'm pretty sure most will contribute knowing they use all these things regularly and have no problem.

I've always wondered why we tax again and again and again. For example, if the income I earned was already taxed, if I pay someone else, that income is then taxed again. At the end of the day, all the money just gets recycled back to the government!

CHARGE LOW TAXES
Government should consider charging lower taxes to Ugandans since few people are really buying and selling staff or earning a lot. Lower taxes with the same sales and clientele would mean more money to use in the home budget.

If you’re a politician, all governments that tax less than yours are Tax Havens and are deplorable because they’re offering the people you rule over a better deal than you.

Low or no income tax countries can be attractive for entrepreneurs and business owners as they offer a more favourable tax environment. This can lead to lower operating costs and higher profits, making it easier for businesses to thrive. In both Singapore and Switzerland, it is not only about low tax, but also that the government seems to spend taxes wisely with investment for the long term. I also think that is true of the UAE - I will find out more when I visit there next month, God willing.

high taxes on something will discourage the consumption of some goods and cause the wealth gap to increase further, as people born poor will have to pay more and more taxes, reducing their ability to afford a good education, reducing their ability to increase their current situation.

In fact, tax minimization is your duty as a democratically empowered citizen. Unjust taxes are a heinous abuse of government power and exceedingly 'immoral'. There have been enough wars over the centuries on this very point (even in the very roots of American independence from Great Britain) that ought to have made this point clear.

BUSINESS PEOPLE REPRESENTATION
The Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Acts of 1767 angered colonists regarding British decisions on taxing the colonies with no representation in the Westminster Parliament. The Townsend Acts imposed taxes on the American colony without allowing them any representation (thus “Taxation without representation is tyranny”). The Tea Act of 1773 was the last straw. That is why tea was the cargo thrown into the bay leading to the famous Boston Tea party. I paused for some photos at this spot in Boston last year.

It wasn’t the amount of tax that caused the Boston Tea Party, it was the principle of Britain imposing taxes on the colonies. The American patriots considered the tax to be unconstitutional, based on the British constitution at the time.

Secondly, the introduction of the Tea Act, gave the East India Company the opportunity to export tea directly to the colony without paying any duty. As a result, the American merchants of the colony were unable to compete with the East India Company and suffered severe economic losses. In this situation the colonists began to boycott what was imported by the company.

Today some of you have representation in parliament. If you don’t like the tax level imposed by the Museveni government, vote for MPs and leaders who will change it.

While Museveni was meeting the businesspeople, especially, the traders of Kampala recently at Kololo, one of the main speakers mentioned that they would like a representative in parliament, and I think this is something the government should consider.

DODGING TAXES
Everyone, literally everyone has to pay taxes of some kind no matter if they are rich or poor, especially in developed countries. The problem is when people attempt to skirt around paying taxes when they can afford to do it. Example, one of my favourite movie actors, Nicholas Cage, got into some serious trouble after not paying his taxes and building serious debt on top of that. So, he started starring in lower grade films in order to pay his debts.

Apparently, a lot of business and powerful people in Museveni’s government tend to avoid taxes. Even lower-class people can attempt to commit tax fraud and skirt around paying taxes, but when they get caught, it hits them harder.

The dodging of paying taxes is mainly brought about by the fact that the taxes are high. Everyone is feeling it – from traders to property owners.