President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has revealed plans to propose the removal of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax on scientists with an aim to strengthen Uganda’s scientific community and accelerate economic transformation.
Speaking during a public address, Museveni said the government has already taken deliberate steps to improve the welfare of scientists, including enhancing their salaries despite resistance from some stakeholders.
“I have been working to stabilize our science community. That’s why although I had opposition from other people, I insisted on increasing the pay of the scientists,” Museveni said.
However, Museveni noted that the impact of salary increments is significantly reduced by taxation, leaving scientists with limited take-home pay.
“But I would want us to do more. Because the scientists, even when you give them what we gave them, starting pay, with a tax of thirty percent, they go back to very little,”he explained.
Museveni pointed to existing tax exemptions granted to security forces as a model worth extending to scientists, emphasizing their critical role in national development.
“For the soldiers and the policemen, we give them tax-free pay. They don’t pay tax. You Ugandans, if you really want your economy to stabilize, what if we treated these scientists as soldiers and said, ‘okay, you are doing a special job, the little you have got, your tax is exempt,”he proposed.
He stressed that scientists are relatively few in number but have a disproportionately large impact on the economy, particularly through innovation, agriculture, and job creation.
“They are not many. They are not like other people. Like this one, there are about sixteen institutions, but all of them are now employing seven hundred people. So that is a big number,”Museveni said.
The President also indicated that similar measures could be extended to other critical professions such as doctors and engineers, noting that targeted incentives are essential for sectors that directly drive development.
“So you have to do it for the doctors. And we did the same for the doctors so they stabilize. And the engineers, they are not very many. This is what I am going to propose,”he added.
In a passionate remark, Museveni underscored his commitment to the proposal, framing it as a matter of national importance.
“If they kill me, then you know that I have died for the truth. I will die like Jesus died for the truth,” he said.
The President further highlighted the central role of science in solving practical challenges facing the country, particularly in agriculture.
“You may quote literature and Shakespeare, but that will not solve the problem of ticks. These scientists, as you see the impact they will have in agriculture, is very big,” he noted.
Museveni called for greater prioritization of scientific disciplines in national planning, urging other sectors to support and complement the work of scientists in building a resilient and productive economy.
The proposal will be tabled for discussion in the next government, where policymakers will consider its implications on revenue and national development priorities.
