Wakiso District Woman Member of Parliament Betty Ethel Naluyima has challenged the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST), Dr Ramathan Ggoobi, to enforce the Finance Ministry’s directive exempting local government councillors’ allowances from Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax.

Naluyima argues that the allowances fall below the taxable income threshold and should therefore not attract deductions by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

She raised the concern while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (Central), where Dr Ggoobi and his team were responding to queries arising from the Auditor General’s report for the 2024/2025 financial year.

The legislator reminded the Treasury chief of an earlier commitment by the Minister of Finance, Henry Musasizi, to engage URA and resolve the controversial deductions affecting councillors’ allowances.

She questioned whether the Ministry of Finance had formally communicated the directive to the Ministry of Local Government to ensure that the deductions are stopped in subsequent payments.

Naluyima said councillors deserved clear assurance that their allowances would be protected, noting that the matter had already been raised on the floor of Parliament and required concrete action rather than further explanations.

In his response, Dr Ggoobi said he had learnt about the matter through media reports but had not yet received a formal briefing because he had just returned from abroad.

He, however, pledged to review the matter and provide an appropriate response after obtaining the necessary information.

Naluyima expressed concern over the delay, urging the PSST to treat the matter with urgency and ensure that councillors are not subjected to tax deductions that the government has indicated should not apply.

The matter now awaits further clarification from the Treasury, particularly regarding the formal communication and implementation of the Finance Ministry’s position on PAYE deductions from councillors’ allowances.

End