The National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) party has condemned the high taxation of commodities and services and the introduction of other taxes, stating that the masses are too poor to be subjected to high taxes.

This was remarked by the NEED party’s National Organizing Secretary, Godfrey Sentumba, during the party’s weekly press release, which took place on April 8, 2024, at the party headquarters in Rubaga, Kampala.

Sentumba stated that Uganda, as a country, collects over Ugx 52 trillion as taxes, but there is no change seen in the country, stating that the taxes are used for wrong purposes instead of developing the country.

“The government is using our taxes to buy politicians for new laws in parliament, as we can all see now. Every politician has a price they ask for in order to pass a law that would be used by the government for their own good,” Sentumba said.

He noted that the government should start a lifestyle audit, which was earlier suggested by the IGG to double-check the lifestyles of politicians but was shunned by President Museveni.

“How can a person who earns a salary of Ugx 2 million be able to construct apartments? How come the corrupt who steal billions of money are never arrested, but those who steal less than Ugx 50,000 are arrested and even paraded in the anti-corruption courts?” he queried.

This comes after the Kampala Kikuubo traders organized a protest against the high taxes levied on them and the introduction of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS) by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).