Perceptions of Tax Compliance Willingness among Sme Owners in Kcca, Uganda

The study assumed that voluntary tax compliance practices of registration, taxable income disclosure, and tax remittance timeliness were indicators of tax compliance willingness among SMEs. However, there was unending tax enforcement operations and forceful seizure of goods due to major offences like mis-declaration, false documentations, under valuations, outright smuggling and concealment among Ugandan SMEs. This prompted an exploration into the underlying perceptions of tax compliance willingness among SME owners in KCCA. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design, a qualitative approach, and an interview guide to collect data from 6 owners of SMEs across the 5 divisions of KCCA. The study concluded that although some SME owners in KCCA were aware that voluntary tax compliance practices such as voluntary registration, full disclosure of taxable income, and timely tax remittance were beneficial to their businesses because it helped them secure business with reputable organizations, avoid penalties, and contribute to overall economic development. The study equally concluded that the same SME owners had negative perceptions towards such voluntary tax compliance practices because of perceptions of high and unfair tax rates, unclear tax regulations, and mis-match between taxes and public service delivery. Among others, the study recommends that KCCA and URA tax policymakers ought to embark on mass sensitization of tax payers about the merits for voluntary tax compliance to both the tax payers and government authorities by holding routine mass media and social media campaigns to enlighten SMEs on the role of adopting tax compliance behavior. The study also recommends that flexible and more fair tax rates are adopted by tax authorities by holding massive consultative meetings with SMEs to ensure participation of key stakeholders. Lastly, the study recommends that government policymakers give priority to availing sufficient public services as evidence of an effectively utilized tax, which will help in changing the negative perceptions of SMEs and boost their voluntary tax compliance willingness.