FRIDAY, 4th SEPTEMBER 2020: DOMESTIC REVENUE
PRAYER GUIDE
ISAIAH 51:15-16 (NKJV)
15But I am the Lord your God,
Who divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16And I have put My words in your mouth; [Emphasis Added]
I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
That I may plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth, [Emphasis Added]
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
JEREMIAH 1:9,10 (ESV)
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
EZEKIEL 37: 3-5, 7, 9, 10
And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, [Emphasis Added] O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live….
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, [Emphasis Added] and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone…
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, [Emphasis Added] Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on
these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, [Emphasis Added] and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
MARK 11:13-14
And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he
came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, [Emphasis Added] “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. [Emphasis Added]
MARK 11:22-24
And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, [Emphasis Added] whoever says to this mountain, [Emphasis Added] Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says [Emphasis Added] will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, [Emphasis Added] believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
GUIDING TEXT FOR THE FASTING SEASON
ISAIAH 32:1-8
1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And a cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5The foolish person will no longer be called generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8But a generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.
Day |
Day of the Week |
Date |
Area of Focus |
WEEK THREE |
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| 17 | Friday | 4th September 2020 | Domestic Revenue |
| 18 | Saturday | 5th September 2020 | Transport and Logistics |
| 19 | Sunday | 6th September 2020 | Manufacturing & Industry |
| 20 | Monday | 7th September 2020 | Entrepreneurship, Trade and Commerce |
| 21 | Tuesday | 8th September 2020 | Land Management |
WEEK FOUR |
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| 22 | Wednesday | 9th September 2020 | Water Management |
| 23 | Thursday | 10th September 2020 | Biodiversity & the Natural Environment |
| 24 | Friday | 11th September 2020 | Livestock, Fisheries and Agriculture |
| 25 | Saturday | 12th September 2020 | Energy |
| 26 | Sunday | 13th September 2020 | Minerals |
| 27 | Monday | 14th September 2020 | Tourism and Hospitality |
| 28 | Tuesday | 15th September 2020 | Housing and Construction |
WEEK FIVE |
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| 29 | Wednesday | 16th September 2020 | Entertainment and Celebration |
| 30 | Thursday | 17th September 2020 | Sports and Recreation |
| 31 | Friday | 18th September 2020 | International Cooperation |
| 32 | Saturday | 19th September 2020 | International Geopolitics |
| 33 | Sunday | 20th September 2020 | Africa, Israel and the Nations |
| 34 | Monday | 21st September 2020 | The Executive |
| 35 | Tuesday | 22nd September 2020 | Cabinet |
WEEK SIX |
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| 36 | Wednesday | 23rd September 2020 | Local Government |
| 37 | Thursday | 24th September 2020 | Public Service |
| 38 | Friday | 25th September 2020 | The Army and the Reserve Force |
| 39 | Saturday | 26th September 2020 | Border Control |
| 40 | Sunday | 27th September 2020 | Justice, Law and Order |
| 41 | Monday | 28th September 2020 | The Police and LDUs |
| 42 | Tuesday | 29th September 2020 | Prisons and Rehabilitation |
WEEK SEVEN |
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| 43 | Wednesday | 30th September 2020 | The Legislature |
| 44 | Thursday | 1st October 2020 | Political Organizations |
| 45 | Friday | 2nd October 2020 | The Electoral Commission |
| 46 | Saturday | 3rd October 2020 | The Electorate |
| 47 | Sunday | 4th October 2020 | The 2021 Elections |
| 48 | Monday | 5th October 2020 | Post- Election to Swearing-in |
| 49 | Tuesday | 6th October 2020 | Marketplace Restoration |
CONCLUSION |
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| 50 | Wednesday | 7th October 2020 | Dedicating the Decade 2020 -2029 |
| Thursday | 8th October 2020 | Dedicating 2020/2021 | |
| Friday | 9th October 2020 | THANKSGIVING |
DATES TO NOTE
CONCLUDING VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Monday, 5th October to Wednesday, 7th October 2020 (6 pm to 9 pm)
CONCLUDING NIGHT VIGIL & DEDICATION OF 2020/2021
Thursday, 8th October 2020
DOMESTIC REVENUE
Domestic revenue is comprised of both Tax and Non Tax Revenue. Uganda Revenue Authority has the responsibility of collecting sufficient revenue to enable the government carry out its programs. Uganda’s tax system is comprised of several tax instruments, including direct personal and corporate income taxes, and indirect taxes such as excise duties and value-added tax (VAT). The total income to which these taxes apply determines the tax base. The tax base is still narrow and needs to be broadened. This does not mean merely introducing new tax categories (these are often applied to the same sources of income and therefore applied to those who are already paying their taxes), but rather to bringing more Ugandans into the tax-paying net, encouraging potential taxpayers to participate in the tax system and boosting compliance.
Non-tax revenue (NTR) includes all government revenue not derived from taxes, from both domestic and external sources. Domestic sources include user fees levied on the use of public services, such as rent for state-owned buildings, payments for government services, such as the issuance of permits, licences, and passports, mining and royalty fees, fines and penalties, and interest and dividends from government investments. External sources include grants and gifts from development partners, which have historically been the largest source of NTR.
Taxes have always been universally unpopular, and sometimes the government agencies in charge of collecting those taxes are thought of with disgust, whether they are corrupt or not. Tax collectors were not thought highly of in Bible times either. In Jesus’ days on earth they were classed with gluttons, drunkards, prostitutes, sinners a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 11:19; 21:31–32; Luke 3:12–13). However God’s word is clear on the matter of taxes. We are commanded to taxes and obey the laws of the land. Those in authority are referred to as God’s “ministers” and we have an obligation to pay our taxes even when we disagree with their politics. The Bible does not forbid paying taxes. In fact, the Bible encourages us to pay taxes. Therefore, we must submit to God and His Word – and pay our taxes. The only instance in which we are allowed to disobey the government is when it tells us to do something the Bible forbids.
This does not mean that God approves all that His “ministers” do in governing. God is just and righteous and disapproves of those who tax unfairly and those who abuse the trust given to them. Indeed when Israel insisted to getting a king in Prophet Samuel’s day, God warned them that that governance arrangement will be one where the king will mainly be a taker and not a giver.
Taxes are intended for the commonly beneficial running of society. The most frequent objection to paying taxes is that the money is misused, even used for evil purposes by the government. While is true that tax revenue is not always put to the best use, we are nonetheless called to focus on obeying divine instructions. When Jesus said, “Give to Caesar…” the Roman government was an oppressive one. Similarly when the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul instructed us to pay taxes, the head of the government was Nero, one of the most evil Roman emperors in history. The lesson is that we are to pay our taxes even when the government is not God-honoring.
Registered and active taxpayers currently represent a small proportion of the economically active population of the country. One of the main challenges for improving collection is broadening the base of taxpayers in Uganda. The narrow tax base means that there are many ‘free riders” in our society: tax evaders and non complaint citizens who will still have the audacity to complain and blame the government for not meeting its obligations and voice out the cry, “Gavumenti etuyambe”. This puts pressure on those who comply with business registration and tax registration rules, by requiring tax rates to be unnecessarily high and keeping the tax revenue lower than it should be.
God’s plan is that all citizens pay their fair share to enable the extension of social policy provision in key areas such as education, training and healthcare, and continue support for wealth-creation, industrialisation and the growth of meaningful employment. Part of seeking the peace (shalom – total well being of our nation and its communities is ensuring that we meet our statutory obligations and pay our bills in a timely way. Praying people especially need to ensure that they are tax complaint in order to remove the legal ground for Satan to resist our prayers. As for the corrupt in managing public funds and those who parasite off the labours of others, this is part of resisting God plan for government (Romans 13:2) and their divine judgment day awaits.
SCRIPTURES FOR PRAYER AND PROCLAMATION
ROMANS 13:1-8
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
MATTHEW 22:17-21
Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
MATTHEW 17:24-27
When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
LUKE 3:12-13
Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
AMOS 5:11
Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
JEREMIAH 29:7
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
1 SAMUEL 8:10-18
So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
WORSHIP GOD WHO APPOINTS THOSE IN AUTHORITY
Thank God for:
- The leadership of URA
- The establishment of URA Authority, which has helped increase the collection of revenue.
- The positive changes we have witnessed in the management of the authority.
PROCLAMATION FOR DOMESTIC REVENUE
God is raising leaders in all aspects related to the collection, allocation and management of domestic revenue, that will be resource stewards for Uganda.
They will lead in righteous and justice.
These are men and women that will have been delivered from the spirit of mammon and greed. They will hate dishonest gain and will be transparent and accountable.
We see a new Uganda where all citizens have developed a culture of responsibility and are contributing to the wellbeing of the country by paying their fair share of taxes.
A Uganda where internally collected taxes are responsibly utilized and are adequate to take care of the needs of those in authority and to properly run the country.
The Lord will guide those that formulate tax policies to come up with tax regimes that are just and fair and that cover all the citizens
A Uganda where tax policies create a sound and buoyant tax system that promotes industrialisation, social welfare, and private sector development.
Repressive tax regimes will be removed and tax administration and collection processes will be efficient compliance thus reducing the burden for individuals and businesses
The image of Uganda Revenue Authority will be associated with honour and integrity,
Loopholes in fair tax collection and administration will be blocked.
Tax collectors and administrators will serve with integrity at all levels
The tax system will be transparent and accountable, making it hard for those who abuse it to engage in dishonesty and fraud.
Thieves and the corrupt will be purged off the ranks of tax collection and administration
Taxpayer services, education, and information will be well provided.
The tax base will be broadened to include all citizens.
As a result the delivery of National Development plans will be well supported financially from indigenous resources
Uganda will experience greater self-reliance in financing economic development
Ugandans will have strong sense of ownership of shaping their national destiny
The economy will grow with leaps and bonds as domestic and foreign investors get greater certainty and confidence in the planned direction of taxation policy
AMEN
