Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) has exempted Church building from paying property tax.
This announcement was made Friday during a press conference at City hall where the KCCA director of revenue collection, Samuel Sserunkuma, revealed that all buildings and residences in the city have been registered but, only 15,169 qualified to pay property tax.
Sserunkuma noted that buildings such as churches, the state house, embassies and ambassador’s residences, government, cultural leaders houses and houses occupied by their real owners are exempted from paying tax.
The city is home to a number of church buildings that include Rubaga Cathedral which is parent cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala, All saints’ Cathedral – the city Parish of Kampala Diocese and is the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Kampala, Watoto Church, Christ Embassy ministries among others.
Most of these Church buildings have a life span of more than a hundred years, for example, All Saints’ Cathedral that was founded about 1912.
“The above mentioned buildings will be exempted from the tax on presentation of government documents stating clearly that they are registered as what they claim to be. Churches that sometimes house businesses are not entitled to property tax exemption.” He explained.
Revenue is a key factor for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in achieving her mandate as provided for in Kampala Capital City Act 2010 (Section 50), according to Jennifer S Musisi, the Executive director KCCA.
The Act provides for the power to levy taxes giving KCCA the responsibility to levy, charge, collect and appropriate fees and taxes in accordance with the law as enacted by Parliament under article 152 of the Constitution.
While evaluating buildings, the authority asks the owners how much profit they earn, subtract the percentage spent on maintenance and only request for 6% as the tax from the remaining amount.
