The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has questioned the manner in which the Ministry of Finance revises some tax laws, especially Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

Uganda charges almost up to 40% as PAYE on every employee in the private sector and some government entities. Now, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament says this is too much money to be taken from employees, leaving them with little to spend.

According to the Rt. Hon. Tayebwa says such laws have stifled self-development since it leaves people with literally no money to spend on their needs and wants.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has presided over the launch of the Parliamentary Forum on Labour, Decent Employment and Productivity

The forum brings together legislators with the aim of overseeing policy formulation and supervision of the labour market with the intention of fostering a decent work environment
In his remarks, the Deputy Speaker raised the issue of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax paid by all employees in a specific income threshold, in the private sector and some government entities.

The majority of employees pay 30% in PAYE while higher earners pay up to 40% of their income as a tax. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, is worried that this tax leaves workers with little income, hence denying them a decent life.
The Rt. Hon. Tayebwa appealed to the Government and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in particular, to put emphasis on expanding the tax base so that the people can pay taxes without necessarily taking away their purchasing power and their capacity to invest.

According to URA, there are just about 2 million registered individual direct taxpayers in Uganda, with a total population of over 45 million people.

The Deputy Speaker tasked members of the newly created Parliamentary Forum on Labour, Decent Employment and Productivity to formulate a special law to regulate migrant workers. Government Statistics indicate that migrant workers contributed over 1.14 billion US dollars to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021. This was the second highest in the region with Kenya posting the highest figure at 4 billion US Dollar

The Rt. Hon. Tayebwa raised concern that such a critical sector has been neglected, with the government only focusing on what they get from the migrant workers.
Development partners from the International Organization for Immigration (IOM) and the Embassy of Belgium noted that migrant workers are a reality globally as many move across borders in search of greener pastures.

They, however, believe that institutions like Parliament have to formulate policies and others regulate to protect the rights of migrant workers wherever they are.

While there is a push for a decent workspace and social protection of workers, there are concerns that some employees tend to focus on how much they are being paid, leaving the employing business to collapse

Ramson