Ugandan finance minister supports Museveni’s push to review tax on casino winnings
According to the minister, exempting winnings from land-based casinos while maintaining the tax on online casino winnings would create unequal treatment for the same gambling activity.
Uganda.- Uganda’s minister of finance, planning and economic development, Henry Musasizi, has defended President Yoweri Museveni’s objection to exempting land-based casino winnings from a 15 per cent withholding tax, saying equal tax treatment for land-based and online casinos would prevent tax avoidance and revenue leakage.
Musasizi made the remarks while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development on July 16 to explain the President’s decision to return the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026 for reconsideration.
According to the minister, exempting winnings from land-based casinos while maintaining the tax on online casino winnings would create unequal treatment for the same gambling activity and encourage taxpayers to restructure their operations to benefit from the exemption.
He said applying the same withholding tax to both land-based and online casino winnings would preserve tax fairness and help the government achieve its projected UGX65bn (€15.3m) in revenue for the 2026/27 financial year.
Museveni returned the Bill to Parliament without assent in a letter dated July 10, arguing that removing the withholding tax on land-based casino winnings would create opportunities for revenue leakage. He instead proposed extending the existing 15 per cent withholding tax on online casino winnings to winnings from land-based casinos.
Parliament had passed the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill in April 2026 ahead of the start of the new financial year, but lawmakers must now reconsider the proposed exemption in line with the President’s recommendations.
