The planned adoption of the National Identification Number (NIN) as the primary tax identification number for individuals is expected to broaden Uganda’s tax base, eliminate duplicate registrations and improve tax administration, the Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Planning), Amos Lugoloobi, has said.
Lugoloobi said the reform seeks to establish a reliable and unified system for identifying individual taxpayers, thereby strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation.
“The broader objective is not simply to replace one number with another, but to improve the integrity of taxpayer identification, broaden the tax base and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation,” he said.
The minister made the remarks while presenting a statement on the integration during a House sitting on Thursday, October 15, 2026, chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth.
Lugoloobi said Uganda currently has 5.7 million registered taxpayers, including 5.4 million individuals. However, only 3.3 million are active, while about 2.1 million remain inactive.
He said activating more eligible taxpayers could generate additional revenue for the government, although the projected gains would depend on compliance with tax obligations.
“The Shs420 billion is an indicative illustration of the potential revenue that could be mobilised if eligible persons comply with their tax obligations. It is not a tax imposed on every person who possesses a NIN,” he said.
Lugoloobi explained that the separate Tax Identification Number (TIN) and NIN systems had created duplicate records, inconsistencies and opportunities for taxpayers to appear under different particulars.
During the 2025/26 financial year, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) identified 191,813 duplicate records and 51,993 mutations in its taxpayer register.
The minister said progress had been made towards integrating the two systems. By September 30, 2026, a total of 2,130,814 of the 5,405,148 individual taxpayer records, representing 39 per cent, had been matched with NINs.
He clarified that the reform targets individual taxpayers, while companies and registered organisations will use Entity Registration Numbers issued by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau, subject to the necessary approvals.
Foreign taxpayers will use the applicable identification documents, including Alien Identification Numbers, while diplomats will use identification numbers issued through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Separate arrangements will be developed for refugees.
However, the Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, questioned how the transition would accommodate Ugandans who are not registered with the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).
“About 10.4 million Ugandans are not registered by NIRA, so there is a lacuna during the migration because they do not exist in the system. How will you address that?” Ssenyonyi asked.
He also questioned whether the reform would deliver the anticipated increase in revenue, given the large number of inactive taxpayers.
“Sixty per cent of the people on the tax register are inactive, so the claim that tax inflows will increase is not necessarily true. We would want to know the plans around those who are inactive,” he said.
Ssenyonyi further raised concerns about data privacy, citing Section 29 of the Data Protection and Privacy Act, which requires entities collecting and processing personal data to register with the National Information Technology Authority–Uganda.
Ndorwa County West MP Eliab Naturinda backed the reform, citing similar transitions in other countries.
“Ghana transitioned in 2021 and Rwanda transitioned effective 2025. Government spent money on benchmarking and sent staff and even MPs to those countries. We should now implement,” Naturinda said.
Rukiga County MP Patrick Katabaazi also welcomed the adoption of a uniform taxpayer identification system but called for stronger capacity at NIRA.
Katabaazi said staffing shortages at the authority had contributed to a backlog of about 5.6 million uncollected national identity cards.
