Uganda's tax transparency journey demonstrates how political commitment, strong leadership and sustained investment in institutional capacity can translate international standards into practical results.
Over the past decade, Uganda has strengthened its Exchange of Information (EOI) framework, integrated tax transparency and EOI tools into tax compliance and audit processes, and expanded cooperation with tax administrations across Africa.
This progress has
enabled tax transparency to move beyond policy commitments and become a
practical tool for combatting tax evasion, improving tax compliance and
protecting the country’s domestic tax base.
Reflecting on Uganda's journey,
Mr Joseph Balikuddembe, Supervisor for Exchange of Information at the Uganda
Revenue Authority and Chair of ATAF's Cross-Border Taxation Technical Committee
on Exchange of Information, credits the long-standing partnership between URA
and ATAF with helping the country build the capacity needed to achieve these
milestones.
"ATAF
provided us with capacity building in developing our Exchange of Information
Unit and now we are at the point where we have been recognised by the OECD as
being largely compliant with the standard on tax transparency and Exchange of
Information."
One of Uganda's most significant
achievements has been the implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information
(AEOI). According to Mr Balikuddembe, this milestone was made possible through
a clear implementation roadmap and sustained technical support.
"We
have been able to implement Automatic Exchange of Information. ATAF supported
us first and foremost by coming up with a roadmap on how we could move from
political commitment to implementation. We committed to implement Automatic
Exchange of Information in 2021 and, last year, in September 2025, we were able
to exchange our first automatic exchange of financial account
information."
Uganda's progress has also enabled it to contribute to Africa's growing tax transparency agenda. Drawing on its implementation experience, the Uganda Revenue Authority has provided technical inputs to the development of the African AEOI IT Solution, developed by the Zambia Revenue Authority in partnership with ATAF and with support from the World Bank Group.
Furthermore, Uganda has shared its
experience with fellow tax administrations through peer learning and technical
cooperation.
For Mr Balikuddembe, supporting
other African countries is an important part of Uganda's continuing journey.
"We
have to make sure that we are supportive of the different countries that need
our assistance. We have offered peer-to-peer learning to our colleagues in
Zimbabwe and we remain open to support any other country that wants to start
this journey of tax transparency."
Uganda's experience demonstrates that the benefits of tax transparency extend beyond national borders.
As
countries strengthen their own systems, they also strengthen Africa's
collective capacity to combat tax evasion, improve compliance and protect domestic
revenues through cooperation and shared expertise.
