Mr. Bwanika: The issue is not whether you agree with me or not, but rather what to do with poll tax and how the local authorities will make up for the shortfall.
You want the state to start cleaning streets. Well, why not use the "useless men" who can't afford to pay Uganda. Shillings 3, 000 as graduated tax. For me it is not so much cleaning streets-that is a luxury my friend, but fixing infrastructure. For the sake of this argument, let us assume that the minimum wage for a laborer in Uganda is Uganda shillings 150 per hour for a total of Uganda shillings 1, 200 for 8 hours (a day). At that rate, those taxpayers who can't afford to pay the tax would spend 20 man hours fixing roads, bridges, and even painting schools like that one in Luwero you attended. 20 man hours per destitute tax payer would do quite a bit. It would be incumbent upon the local authorities to make a schedule that utilizes their potential to the fullest. For example, more hours would be utilized in the rainy season when roads become impassable. But the authorities would not harass in any way those taxpayers who sign upon to offer local services in lieu of Ug. Shs 3,000. Just imagine what could be done. With all due respect, you have now become westernized. In Uganda families care for others-they take care of the sick, elderly and orphans. We do not need shelters as is the case in Sweden or elsewhere in the West. We acre about our lame and disabled ) I wish the government of Uganda would make buildings wheel chair accessible to accommodate the disabled-it is possible even Parliament is not wheel chair accessible). But if you still want to offer food to school children (whose immediate responsibility is it again to look after children? The government of Ugandans doing far more to educate children under UPE and knowing Ugandans, they feel relieved to the extent that they now have to add more! Ugandans are very good at risk compensation, you introduce UPE, they produce more children because the burden is gone, you build good roads they drive like crazies and cause accidents, you introduce condoms to fight HIV/AIDS; they turn into something else, pay MPs better, they vote themselves more entitlements etc.). Now you want the government to provide food to school children, what do you think will happen? Ugandans will produce more children. I wish the schools could provide at least porridge as it was in our Amin days. We had some lunch in the form of porridge and beans. But the same "useless men" could offer their services helping schools prepare such meals, fix school buildings etc. These things require money; money local authorities do not have so why not use the excess labor. The question that arises is: why can't Ugandans afford to raise Ug. Shs. 3000? Are they juts lazy? Perhaps some are, but the reason could be lack of job opportunities. Without work, how are the poor folks expected to generate income? Just imagine what 20 man hours would do towards fixing feeder roads, painting schools, cleaning public space etc? Instead Ugandans are busy calling for �a living wage�. A living wage in country where unemployment is the norm hardly makes sense. What does a living wage mean? It means that Ugandans continue to be lured from their rural communities to live on the margin in urban areas chasing elusive jobs that pay a living wage. Little wonder urban areas are full of destitute, who are turning into criminals. What I agree with you is that it is time to recognize and empower farmers. If we get agriculture right, Uganda will be on the right track (I applaud VP Bukenya's efforts to teach people to grow rice). Instead of promising a living wage, the government should be promising and actually paying farmers the market rate for their produce. Today farmers are not paid their worthy because the government fears the urban riff raffs who could protest if prices went too high (but why are they in urban centers in the first place, they should be going home to be productive instead of living on the margin pretending otherwise?). Now Mr. Bwanika, you started a farmers party, (have you registered it yet), you should be fighting for farmers rights and not urban riff raffs, the parasites who despise farming yet want fresh and cheap food. There are too many idlers in urban centers who should not be let off the hook by simply abolishing poll tax. They should go to Kampala, Jinja, Mbale, Busia, Lira, Mbarara but they must be asked to pay not the minimum tax, but something tangible and if they can�t, then they should be put to work. You always lament about dirt in Kampala, how about asking those who can't pay KCC to sign up to clean streets, pick up garbage and clean schools? Just imagine, 20 man hours per each destitute tax payer, and what they could collectively do? We are not talking here about "kasanvu" but a service in lieu of taxes. The most important question you ask is "what is taxation of Ugandans for". This is a long story, but suffices to say taxation serves multiple roles. One of them is redistribution where those with more pay fair taxes than those with less. That is why I said that the uniformity embedded in the standard figure of Ug 3000 across the board is regressive and should be rescinded immediately. Let us face it Mr. Bwanika; Ugandans do not have a culture of paying taxes. They expect good services for nothing. Where do you expect the government to get money to educate children under UPE (great idea), and feed them without collecting taxes? I am not picking on the Monitor here but one of their star journalist is always lambasting the government for depending too much on donor funds. Well, assuming that is true, how can the government wean itself off donor dependence? By collecting more taxes and growing the economy-that is why the government can give tax shelters to BIDCO and many others. I am not saying the BIDCO deal is okay, but showing how taxation can play multiple roles. That is to say, taxation policy is also competition policy; hence the lament in Ugandan papers and UMA reps about higher taxes in Uganda. Taxation can influence investment decisions at the margin. Mr. Bwanika, I hope you see why graduate tax should stay. It should be reformed to create a win-win situation for both taxpayers �the useless men� and local authorities. With creativity, local roads, schools and public places could be fixed by those "useless men" who can't raise the Shs 3, 000. At 150 shillings an hour, authorities can extract a cool 20 man hours (you tell me how many Ugandans can't pay the minimum tax and I will tell you the wasted manpower). Mr. Bwanika, I sympathize with the people of Luwero, but blame their leaders-five ministers in total or something like that, so what are they doing about the fate of the people of Luwero? Now Lakwena is getting a cool US Dollars 50, 000 and a posh home in Kampala with police security! That is our Uganda, kill and you will be rewarded. Not long ago, Mr. Onyango-Obbo said it would be cheaper and it is cheaper to but off Kony and his fighters. Sad, but that is what our country has come to. You are listened to when you can kill and maim, but ignored, well clobbered when you try to use dialogue. Have you ever wondered why according to the UN rankings Scandinavian countries are the best countries to live in the World? Is it not because they have the highest levels of taxes among the developed countries? How high again are taxes in Sweden and Norway? Very high. But what do those taxes mean? Better services. Wendell Holmes observed that �taxes are what we pay for civilization�. On the other hand, have you wondered why Hong Kong and Singapore are among the most efficient countries in the world? Or why Scandinavian countries do not do as well on efficiency as they do on standard of living measures? Think about it. It is not for nothing that Ugandan children can�t get lunch or that our infrastructure is crumbling. There is no culture of paying taxes period and until that changes, forget about development. When KCC asked the boda boda people to pay up, they rushed to the Office of the President. There is no magic way. In Kenya, despite the greed and noise from LDP (read KANU diehards) the Kibaki government is collecting more revenue under a reformed KRA. With time, the Kenyan economy will be on the right track. Hon. Njoroge Michuki has just accomplished a miracle, forcing tax drivers and touts to enter the tax system-they have to pay taxes. Not sure about that in Uganda where Mr. Odoi is ordering people around. 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