Every October, something interesting happens in Uganda. Offices close, streets fill with flags, and everyone suddenly becomes a historian. Some remember where they were when Uganda won her freedom, others just remember it’s a public holiday. While some people use the day to reflect deeply, others use it to roast meat, catch up on sleep, or check which supermarket is giving “Independence offers.” Yet beneath all that colour and celebration lies a quiet truth, Independence Day is not just about speeches and parades. It’s about endurance. It’s about a people who, 63 years later, continue to finance and defend their freedom in ways that rarely make the news. When Uganda gained independence in 1962, the excitement was electric. For the first time, Ugandans could imagine running their own economy, passing their own laws, and directing their own future. But freedom did not begin with fireworks, it began with taxes. Before independence, colonial taxes were harsh and strategic. There was the hut tax, the poll tax, and graduated tax, each designed to extract revenue and enforce control. Taxes were not about building Uganda; they were about financing the colonial administration and forcing Africans into the cash economy. People paid, often unwillingly, but they learned one enduring lesson: that taxation is power. Whoever controls tax, controls destiny. After independence, Uganda’s taxation evolved with its story. The early years saw efforts to organize a national tax system, later disrupted by wars and economic collapse. By the late 1980s, when the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) was established, the country was ready to rebuild its fiscal discipline. Today, our tax landscape has grown remarkably sophisticated. We have PAYE for employees, corporation tax for companies, VAT on consumption, customs duties on imports, and excise duty on goods like fuel and alcohol. There’s withholding tax, rental income tax, and even digital service tax for the online economy. Whether you’re a teacher, truck driver, techpreneur, or trader, you are part of Uganda’s revenue engine. And that is the hidden power of our independence every citizen plays a role. For 63 years, Uganda’s progress has not only been built by the military, politicians, and visible faces of leadership. It has also been shaped by millions of silent patriots: the civil servants who file returns faithfully, the entrepreneurs who pay URA without complaint, the accountants who insist on compliance, and the citizens who resist corruption even when it’s easier to look away. These are Uganda’s unsung freedom fighters! Those who defend the country through honesty, productivity, and responsibility. Their contribution is the reason Uganda stands firm, year after year, balancing its books and its hope. Indeed, independence is not just about what was won in 1962. It is about what has been sustained since then, the taxes that keep our soldiers paid, our children in school, and our hospitals running. It is about civic duty turned into nation-building. One cannot speak of modern Uganda without acknowledging the role of stability. For nearly four decades, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has provided a relatively peaceful environment where businesses can grow, farmers can trade, and investors can plan with confidence. Irrespective of religion, tribe, or political affiliation, Ugandans have enjoyed the freedom to live, work, and dream in peace. That peace has been the soil in which our tax system has flourished. Without it, compliance would be impossible, investment unthinkable, and independence unsustainable. For that, Ugandans owe appreciation to a government that has maintained security and built systems where taxes translate into visible growth, roads, power lines, schools, and hospitals across the nation. Of course, challenges remain. The informal sector still hides vast untapped potential. Tax evasion, corruption, and weak accountability occasionally blur the public’s trust. But even then, the progress is undeniable. From 1962’s uncertain start to today’s robust revenue authority, Uganda has moved from a country that was taxed by others to one that proudly funds its own future. The next phase of independence demands more than celebration, it demands participation. Every Ugandan, whether in business, employment, or the informal trade, has a civic role in sustaining this freedom. Paying taxes should no longer be seen as a burden, but as a patriotic act. It is how we keep our flag flying, our roads smooth, and our children hopeful. So, as we mark 63 years of independence, let us toast not only to our founding heroes but also to the unsung citizens, the compliant taxpayer, the honest auditor, the transparent civil servant, and the ethical leader. They are the quiet engines behind Uganda’s enduring freedom. Because in truth, the independence we celebrate today is not just a memory of 1962, but rather a living achievement financed by Ugandans themselves. Happy 63rd Independence, Uganda — the land financed, built, and protected by her own. The writer is a Chartered Accountant, A tax Advisor and a business analyst.