Tax Policy Tops Uganda-South Africa Investment Network

Tax Policy Tops Uganda-South Africa Investment Network
  • South Africa and Uganda are reopening bilateral trade agreements with tax reforms top of the list

Tax Policy tops Uganda-South African recent discussion under the aegis of the South Africa Trade Investment and Tourism Summit scheduled the held in the Midrand Municipality in South Africa sometime around the last week of February 2023.

Some of the tax policies to be discussed reside mainly in Uganda with an instance cited of issuing licences to telecommunication companies extending their operations to the nooks and crannies of the nation with certain taxation and levy consideration.

This consideration proposed by South Africa may not be disassociated with the South African telecommunications giant; MTN.

The rebate in the sector came in handy as operators had complained of the inability to erect masts in protected areas like parks and forests even after the payment of due taxes and levies. Some quarters also report that they are charged a whopping $20,000 extra per mast.

To further straiten grey areas Uganda Investments Authority will be having a dialogue together with other state agencies and telecommunication companies.

Beyond the two nations, the summit will also include Tanzania in the picture specifically in the area of the road levies on Ugandan trucks moving through Tanzania which was more than 1.8 million Shillings and the highest charge on trucks from any other country.

Tax Policy Tops Uganda-South Africa Investment Network: Other Front Burner Issues

Other issues that will be featured in the annual summit are away from tax matters and will border on visa issuance between the East African and Southern African nations.  Uganda in particular wants a Visa waiver by South Africa as they have enjoyed from other countries.

On the flip side, while South Africa acknowledges the need for a Visa waiver, it blamed Uganda for violating migration rules in the country.

About the South Africa Trade Investment and Tourism Summit

The agenda of this year’s summit is outlined but it is much more important to highlight important details about the summit and all it is cut out to achieve.

Here are 5 major highlights to note about the South Africa Trade Investment and Tourism Summit:

  • It is a collaborative event organized by the duo countries of South Africa and Uganda.
  • The summit for 2023 has the theme of  “Boosting Trade and Investment Relations Between South Africa and Uganda”
  • The sole aim of the summit is to create an avenue for the business community and policymakers (government) to talk about issues affecting cross-border trade with an additional perk of identifying existing and emerging business opportunities.
  • For this year’s edition, over 300 delegates are scheduled to attend. These delegates will be drawn from government agencies, investors from both countries concerned, and captains of industries that include; Agriculture, tourism, oil and gas, healthcare, transport and logistics, amongst other sectors.
  • In this year’s edition, it is also indicated that Uganda will seize the opportunity to propose the increase of exports of beef, dairy, coffee, sugar, cement, steel products, poultry, bananas, banana flour, fruits, vegetables, and tourism.

Conclusion

A major bid for Uganda in the bilateral talks to come is its plans to increase its annual exports from $3.5 billion to $6 billion with a bid of reducing the trade imbalance between both countries.

Uganda’s current export to South Africa is put at $70 million while South Africa’s export to put at over $350 million.

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