Кабинет Уганды утвердил использование национального номера идентификации в качестве налогового

Cabinet has approved the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) issued by National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), as the Tax Identification Number (TIN) going forward. The decision was approved by the Cabinet meeting sitting at State House Entebbe on Monday. For years, Uganda’s tax registration system has relied on a separate, largely manual TIN-based process. Although it has served its purpose, the government says that it has also left the country with outdated and inconsistent records. “That creates real weaknesses in data accuracy, compliance, and service delivery,” said the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Justine Kasule Lumumba while reading Cabinet decisions to reporters in Kampala on Tuesday. TIN is a unique identifying number assigned to every taxpayer by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for tax administration purposes. Any person who is likely to transact in any tax related business with URA is required to apply for a TIN. By adopting the NIN as the tax identification number, Lumumba said that government is establishing one consistent identity for every taxpayer. “This will improve the accuracy of our taxpayer register, strengthen our ability to identify and trace taxpayers, and make our data systems work better together. It will help us improve compliance, reduce revenue leakage, and make it simpler for citizens to register and communicate with the tax authorities,” she said. Lumumba added that the move will also give the country visibility into worldwide income, and more broadly, strengthen Uganda’s national identification system as a whole.