All promoters of public entertainment events in Uganda will be required to withhold tax directly from payments to artists starting in the 2026/27 financial year.
Under the new rules, promoters must withhold 6% tax on payments to local artists and entertainers and 15% on payments to international performers. While these rates are not new, the responsibility to collect the tax will now rest squarely on promoters, who previously were not considered designated withholding agents.
Currently, withholding tax mainly applies to formal sectors such as professionals, insurance agents, advertising agencies, and mobile money operators. This has left the entertainment industry largely informal and difficult to regulate, with many artists paid in cash or through loosely documented arrangements, making their earnings hard to track and tax.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has long struggled to collect taxes from performers due to these gaps. By shifting the withholding responsibility to promoters, the government aims to improve compliance, formalise the sector, and ensure more consistent revenue collection. The measure is projected to raise about Shs4.2 billion in additional income.
This initiative builds on earlier URA efforts to formalise the entertainment industry. In January 2023, all players—including artists, promoters, event managers, and venue owners—were required to register for Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), which facilitates enforcement of withholding tax and Value Added Tax (VAT).
Under the current system, resident entertainers pay a 6% withholding tax, non-residents pay 15%, and public entertainment events attract 18% VAT. Operators earning at least Shs150 million annually must also register for VAT.
The new measure does not change these rates but expands responsibility for collecting the tax to promoters, effectively plugging gaps in the system and bringing a larger portion of the entertainment economy into the formal tax framework.
