Mbarara — Mbarara Municipal Council last financial year failed to beat its revenue target and will now be strict with revenue collection, the municipal's town clerk has said. The council collected Shs50 million as Local Service Tax out of the estimated Shs74 million.

Mr David Naluwairo Kigenyi told Daily Monitor early this week that the municipal council was not able to collect all taxes in the 2008/09 financial year due to the fact that the Local Service Tax was still new to the payers. " We failed to meet the required revenue because many people never understood how the new tax was operating," he said.

Mr Naluwairo has now issued a warning to hotel and lodge owners to pay up their dues (Hotel Tax) or risk a penalty. He said; "Last year, the biggest defaulters were hotel owners. We are now giving them a final warning up to the end of this month before we take legal action if they fail to pay." The town depends on property rates, local taxes and bus, taxi parks and markets tenders.