Case file SDA-2019-DEBT
Stamp duty on debt instruments: specific rates in place of ad valorem rates
Highest rung reached: Official forecastLaw: pending verificationRate structure · Relief
1 point pending verification
- The Schedule 2 items changed by Act 10 of 2019 (in force 1 July 2019), which were not compared.
Law
- Principal Act
- Stamp Duty Act (Cap 339), enacted as Act 13 of 2014
- Amending Act
- Stamp Duty (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act 10 of 2019) (probable: the only amending Act in force from the right date, not confirmed)
- Provision, revised numbering (2023 revision)
- pending verification
- Provision, numbering before the revision
- not stated in any source read
- Principal Act dates
- assent 2014-10-19; gazette 2014-10-24; commencement 2014-07-01; Uganda Gazette 61
- Amending Act in force from
- 2019-07-01
- Tax heads and taxpayers affected
- Stamp duty. Borrowers and guarantors using bank guarantees, performance bonds and indemnity bonds.
- Status
- Legal: pending verification. Implementation: pending verification.
Statutory wording pending verification
In plain English
Interpretation: A reading of the evidence, by a named source or by this register. Stamp duty on guarantees and bonds was to move from a share of value to fixed amounts, expected to cost revenue.
Reason
Stated objective pending verification
Revenue
Amendment-level revenue contribution not reliably quantified.
- Rung 1
Observed change
Observed: A value or event as an official source records it, copied without calculation.Missing. The story page draws no collections series for this tax head, so no before and after is shown.
- Rung 2
Official forecast
Official forecast: What MoFPED or URA said a measure would raise, or why it was made, before the year began.- URA: UGX -6 bn expected in FY2019/20 (Stamp duty on debt instruments reviewed: specific rates in place of ad valorem rates).[URA-ARR-1920, printed page 55, PDF page 62, Annex 3, item F4.0]
- Rung 3
Reported yield
Reported yield: What URA attributes to a measure after the year. An official attribution, not a causal estimate.- URA prints an achievement rate of 0 percent for FY2019/20 but no figure in shillings.[URA-ARR-1920, printed page 55, PDF page 62, Annex 3, item F4.0]
- Rung 4
Static or modelled estimate
Modelled estimate: A mechanical or model calculation, with every assumption shown.Missing. No estimate made. A static estimate needs the taxable base before the change (volumes or values by product), which the register does not hold.
- Rung 5
Causal estimate
Causal estimate: An effect identified by a stated research design against a comparison group.Missing. No study with a defensible identification strategy was found for this amendment.
- Rung 6
Wider impact
Interpretation: A reading of the evidence, by a named source or by this register.Missing. No source read for the register describes effects on prices, compliance cost, investment or equity.
What is known, what is uncertain, and what would settle it
- Known: official forecast, reported yield.
- Uncertain: observed change, static or modelled estimate, causal estimate, wider impact; and 1 open point below.
Pathway
From the amendment to its wider consequences. Select a link to read what supports it. No money is drawn along the chain, because no flow along it is measured.
No evidence: Nothing read speaks to this link. No evidence found is not evidence of no effect.
The statutory text was not read; the change is known from official reports.
- amendment: no evidence. The statutory text was not read; the change is known from official reports.
- mechanism: hypothesised. A change in how the rate is set, not only its level.
- implementation: no evidence. No source read dates its implementation.
- response: no evidence. No source read describes how taxpayers responded.
- outcome: no evidence. No reported yield or estimate.
- wider: no evidence. No source read measures wider effects. No evidence found is not evidence of no effect.
Consequences
Graded against ten criteria. No composite score: a reform that raises money can still be regressive or costly to comply with, and one that loses revenue can serve a legitimate aim. Revenue effectiveness is graded by a stated rule; the rest only where a source speaks to them.
What worked
No criterion graded effective on the evidence read.
What did not
No criterion graded ineffective or counterproductive on the evidence read.
Open or not evaluated
Revenue effectiveness
The measure was not meant to raise revenue, or its direction is unknown.(graded by rule)
Not evaluated
Legal clarity and certainty
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Administrative feasibility
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Compliance cost
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Efficiency
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Investment and competitiveness
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Vertical and horizontal equity
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Distributional effect
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Implementation quality
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Unintended consequences
No source read for the register speaks to this criterion.
Not evaluated
Afterlife
No Tax Appeals Tribunal or court decision on this provision is on record yet. That is not evidence that none exists.
Pending verification
- The Schedule 2 items changed by Act 10 of 2019 (in force 1 July 2019), which were not compared.
Sources
URA-ARR-1920
Annual Revenue Report FY 2019/20
Uganda Revenue Authority. 2020. Covers FY2019/20.
Desktop/Personal/URA DATA BOOKS AND REVENUE REPORTS/Annual Revenve Report FY 2019-20.pdf
Status: verified. Pages confirmed for this record in the source audit: 62 (PDF).
Table 20 (PDF page 50, printed 43) and Annex 3, the measure-level table (PDF pages 60 to 62, printed 53 to 55), read from page images. The file name misspells Revenue.
ULII-SDA-2023
Stamp Duty Act (Chapter 339), version at 31 December 2023
Uganda Legal Information Institute (ULII) and Laws.Africa, from the Law Reform Commission revision. 2023-12-31. Covers Text as at 31 December 2023.
Desktop/Personal/Tax Legislation and URA Returns/Stamp Duty Act Cap 339.pdf
Status: verified. No page of this source is confirmed for this record by the audit; it is cited for context.
Read the header and amendment list (PDF pages 5 and 6).