The government of Uganda has decried low revenue realization that has continued to stagnate at around 13% of the Country’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the past few years.

This was announced on Thursday, August 24, 2023, by the Minister of State for General Duties, Henry Musasizi, while chairing the second session on domestic revenue mobilization at the ongoing 7th High Level Economic Growth Forum at the Serena Hotel in Kampala.

Uganda’s total GDP stands at 40.53 billion USD as of 2021, and it is expected to reach 48.29 billion USD by the end of 2023, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations.
Minister Musasizi attributed the stalemate to low tax compliance, a narrow tax base, high informality, and tax evasion in the country.

During the discussion, Minister Musasizi maintained government interventions to stabilize the economy, increase revenue collection without hurting the private sector, make Uganda’s tax incentives more effective, and utilize local government revenues to impact economic growth.

He noted that during the financial year 2022–23, the government collected Shs 23.73 trillion, representing a nominal growth of 16.2% compared to FY 2021/22.

Minister Musasizi said the growth increased because the government has put in place a number of measures, including the rationalization of tax expenditures, enforcing tax compliance, the use of digital tax stamps, tax payer registration, and the Taxpayer Registration and Expansion Program (TREP).

“Although growth is commendable, it remains below the government’s annual growth target of 0.5% of GDP. The revenue effort has stagnated at around 13% of GDP over the past few years, and causes include low tax compliance, a narrow tax base, high informality, and tax evasion,” Musasizi said.

Ramathan  Ggoobi, the PS Minister of Finance,  Planning and Economic Development and also secretary to the Treasury, said Uganda’s economy continues to show remarkable resilience even in the face of significant domestic and external headwinds.

The forum is being held under the theme, “Strengthening Uganda’s Competitiveness to Foster Economic Growth.”
In the long term, Uganda’s GDP is projected to trend around 51.43 USD billion in 2024 and 55.03 USD billion in 2025, according to our econometric models.