Ugandans repatriated from South Africa following xenophobic attacks are set to benefit from tax waivers on their personal effects and vehicles as they rebuild their lives back home, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
Foreign Service Officer at the ministry, Ambassador Dickson Ogwang, said the government was working to support the returnees, adding that the South African government would compensate Ugandans who lost property during the attacks.
“But for you to be granted a tax waiver and compensation, you must have the proper documentation in place,” Mr Ogwang said.
He was speaking at the close of a two-day entrepreneurship training for Ugandans who returned from South Africa, organised by Equity Bank and Enterprise Uganda.
According to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), returning Ugandans may qualify for duty-free exemptions on personal effects and vehicles, subject to meeting the applicable requirements.
URA also has a Foreign Asset Voluntary Disclosure framework through which eligible taxpayers can regularise offshore assets or domestic tax arrears.
The authority states that applicants must have lived outside Uganda for at least two consecutive years and must not have spent more than 90 cumulative days in Uganda during that period.
The entrepreneurship training was aimed at equipping the returnees with skills to establish businesses and rebuild their livelihoods following their return to Uganda.
