Takeaways

• Crysto Panda criticizes Uganda Revenue Authority over UGX 30M tax on Empele Festival, calling it unfair.
• He says rising event costs and low returns are making Uganda’s entertainment industry increasingly difficult for artists and organizers.
• The singer urges government to invest in concert infrastructure like arenas to reduce production and logistics costs for events.

Crysto Panda has openly criticized the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) over what he describes as excessively high taxes imposed on entertainment events.

Speaking about his experience with the Empele Festival, the singer revealed that he was charged about UGX 30 million in taxes—an amount he believes was unfair and not reflective of the actual turnout.

“Someone must have told them that the festival was packed to full capacity but that wasn’t the case,” he explained, emphasizing that event organizers already incur heavy costs before even making any profit.

Crysto Panda further highlighted the growing challenge of pulling crowds to shows, noting that even 15,000 attendees are no longer enough for artists to generate meaningful returns.

“Getting about 20,000 people these days is a hustle,” he said, pointing out how the economics of the entertainment industry have shifted.

He also questioned the impact of the taxes collected, arguing that artists see little to no benefit from the money remitted to URA.

“After all the heavy costs, URA has nothing it gives us in return,” he stated.

He went on to suggest that the government, through URA or other bodies, should consider investing in infrastructure such as dedicated concert arenas.

According to him, this would ease the burden on artists who spend heavily on venues and logistics while trying to put on quality shows.