Kampala property mogul Sudhir Ruparelia’s obedience to the law has been vindicated by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), leading the country’s non-individual rental income taxpayers.
In a statement on Tuesday, the tax body said Meera Investments, a real estate company owned by Sudhir leads Uganda’s non-individual rental income taxpayers while the businessman also comes second among the top 25 individual rental income taxpayers.
Sudhir who has, according to the 2016 Forbes richest list, seen his net worth shrink by about US$300 million to US$800 million still owns two of Kampala’s most prime properties; Speke Resort and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort sit on 76 acres on the shores of Lake Victoria.
URA Commissioner General, Doris Akol praised the likes of Sudhir serve as “role models” for “ontime rental income tax declarations and payment.”
“We encourage all the other players in rental real estate to emulate these role models, come forth, declare and pay your taxes voluntarily as we develop Uganda together,” said Akol.
Other top rental income taxpayers include Golf Course Group Limited, BIDCO Uganda Ltd, British American Tobacco Uganda, Jubilee Investments Company, Capital Shoppers Limited, Megha Industries and Mukwano Industries among others.
PROFIE: Sudhir Ruparelia
Source Real Estate
Born in Kasese District, Ruparelia moved to the United Kingdom with his parent as the age of 16 after President Idi Amin expelled all Asians from the Uganda. In the U.K, Ruparelia worked small jobs, returning to Uganda in 1985 with $25,000 in savings. With that he started a commodities trading business and Uganda’s first foreign exchange bureau. The business snowballed into the Ruparelia Group, Uganda’s largest privately held conglomerate. The group is said to be the single largest private property owner in Uganda and it employs over 6,000 people.
