A brief history of taxation in Uganda: From pre-colonial times to the present
How to cite this publication:
Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Godfrey B. Asiimwe (2025). A brief history of taxation in Uganda: From pre-colonial times to the present. Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Working Paper WP 2025:5)
This paper traces the historical evolution of taxation in Uganda from its pre-colonial origins to the contemporary period. It examines the tax and tribute systems of pre-colonial societies, the fiscal transformations imposed under British colonial rule, and the challenges of local tax administration in the post-independence era. The analysis highlights recurring patterns – such as centralized control over major taxes, reliance on local intermediaries, and persistent popular resistance – alongside structural breaks, most notably the decentralization reforms of the 1990s and the abolition of the Graduated Personal Tax in 2005. These historical dynamics demonstrate that taxation in Uganda has served not only as a mechanism for revenue generation but also as an important instrument of political authority and legitimacy. By situating contemporary fiscal challenges within this long-term historical trajectory, the study underscores how enduring institutional legacies continue to shape Uganda’s fragmented revenue systems, local governments’ dependence on central transfers, and the weak fiscal relations between the state and citizens.
Acknowledgements
We thank Rebecca Mayanja for excellent documentary and literature research in Uganda, and Monica Kirya, Mette Kjær and Ingrid Hoem Sjursen for valuable comments on earlier drafts. The paper was prepared with financial support from the Research Council of Norway (302685/H30). Points of view and possible errors are entirely our responsibility.
About the authors
Odd-Helge Fjeldstad
Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway; and African Tax Institute, Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, South Africa. E-mail: odd.fjeldstad@cmi.no
Godfrey B. Asiimwe
Department of Development Studies, Makerere University, Kampala; and Department of Humanities, Mountains of the Moon University, Fort-Portal, Uganda. E-mail:
god.asiimwe@gmail.com
1. Introduction
Taxation has been a defining feature of governance, economic organization, and state-building in Uganda from the tribute systems of the centralized pre-colonial polities to the contemporary challenges of local government finances (Ssekamwa, 1970; Tuck, 2006; Kjær, 2009; Bandyopadhyay and Green, 2016; Ali and Fjeldstad, 2023). Over time, tax systems have both reflected and influenced shifts in political authority, economic priorities, and administrative capacity (Mamdami, 1996; Englebert, 2000; Reid, 2017; Taylor, 2023).
This paper examines the historical evolution of taxation in Uganda, tracing its development from pre-colonial tribute systems, through colonial impositions such as the Hut Tax and Graduated Personal Tax (GPT), to post-independence reforms and contemporary local government tax practices. It analyzes how these historical arrangements have shaped present-day fiscal policies, tax administration, and governance structures, with a particular focus on the persistence of institutional legacies and their implications for local government autonomy. By connecting past and present, the study offers a historically grounded perspective that can inform ongoing policy debates on building a more effective, equitable, and sustainable tax system in Uganda.
Drawing on historical records, official reports and existing scholarship, supplemented by the authors’ own research on taxation in Uganda and other African contexts, the analysis compares tax types, collection methods, purposes, and compliance mechanisms across different historical periods. The comparative approach highlights how institutional patterns have persisted, adapted, or been disrupted over time. By examining these historical shifts, this paper contributes to the broader discourse on fiscal policy, governance, and local taxation in Uganda. It highlights the persistence of historical tax structures and their enduring influence on contemporary tax administration. The study also sheds light on the challenges faced by current local governments in mobilizing revenue, ensuring tax compliance, and balancing fiscal decentralization with central government control.
The paper contributes to the literature on taxation and state formation in Africa by offering a comprehensive and historically grounded analysis of the evolution of Uganda’s tax systems from the pre-colonial period to the present. While existing scholarships have tended to focus on either the colonial or post-independence periods, this study systematically links pre-colonial tribute practices, colonial fiscal transformations, and post-independence local tax reforms to contemporary challenges of revenue mobilization and governance. By tracing both continuities – such as centralized authority, dependence on local intermediaries, and recurrent popular resistance to taxation – the analysis demonstrates how historical legacies continue to shape present-day revenue systems and state-society relations. This long-term perspective not only fills a notable gap in the literature on Uganda’s fiscal history but also offers insights into why certain tax reforms continue to face challenges related to compliance, administrative capacity, and local autonomy. Ultimately, the paper’s contribution lies in demonstrating that understanding the historical foundations of taxation is essential for designing tax policies that are contextually grounded, politically viable, and responsive to enduring institutional dynamics in Uganda and comparable postcolonial settings.
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: Section 2 examines systems of taxation in pre-colonial Uganda, distinguishing between centralized and decentralized societies. Section 3 analyzes the colonial tax regime and its implications for governance and local administration. Section 4 discusses post-independence local government tax policies, reforms, and the constraints they have faced. Building on this analysis, Section 5 highlights the continuities and discontinuities in Uganda’s taxation history. Section 6 concludes. Annex 1 provides a summary of the main features of Uganda’s tax system over time.
