Things are getting heated between MTN Uganda, a big telecom company in Uganda, and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). Basically, MTN is accused of not paying a ton of money in taxes as the government says they have been collecting taxes from people like you and me on phone calls but haven’t handed it over.
It is being known that, URA, says that MTN Uganda owes them a whopping Shs 260 billion. They say the giant telecom company collected taxes on phone calls over the past five years and just kept it without forwarding it to URA.
But MTN’s boss, Sylvia Mulinge, is firing back as she says the URA is being unfair and trying to force them to pay this huge sum. She even wrote a letter to a big shot in the government, David Kalemera, asking him to step in. She thinks the URA is trying to scare them into paying without a fair chance to prove they don’t actually owe that much.
“This assessment appears to be an intentional effort to compel MTN to take the matter to the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT), which would require an immediate payment of 30% of the assessed amount (Shs 78 billion),” wrote MTN Chief Executive Officer, Sylvia Mulinge.
But URA says that all this is just damage control, because the tax authority hired a different firm to audit this mess and found out it is in excess of Ugx2bn than the said Ugx78bn. But still, Mulinge thinks this whole thing is hurting MTN’s business and making people not want to invest in the country.
She’s worried about what will happen if they have to cough up all that money. That will mean the company will definitely close up and seek business in other countries. This is seen a sympathy card being played by MTN Uganda by some observers, as others side with the company.
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What Happens Next?
MTN is a major player in the telecom world in Uganda, and this tax battle could have a ripple effect on everything from how much we pay for calls to whether other companies get spooked about doing business here.
