Prime Minister Uganda: "Revisiting #SocialMediaTax" – NRC

The tax on the use of social media in Uganda may be partially reversed. This was announced by Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda of East Africa country Wednesday

In May, a new law was introduced in Uganda that taxed the use of social media and mobile payments. Phone users must first pay a daily amount of four eurocents to their telecom providers, only then they have access to applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Yahoo Messenger and Whatsapp on their mobile phone. According to the Reuters news agency, this represents 20% of the total amount paid by Ugandans for their mobile data packets.

Many young Ugandans view the new tax on the use of social media as an attempt to limit their freedom of expression. , says this blogger .

The regulation came into effect on July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year in Uganda. Many Ugandans have tried to circumvent the tax by installing a VPN (virtual private network) on their phones.

Last week, demonstrations in Ugandan cities provoked unrest. International news agencies reported on Wednesday that Kampala police had to disperse a group of two hundred people, including furious taxi drivers, with tear gas. Shortly after, Prime Minister Rugunda, according to the local newspaper Daily Monitor came with his "soothing statement". The law is revised later in the month, "taking into account public objections," was the Prime Minister's statement.

KagutaMuseveni Yoweri K Museveni I have been saying new social media and mobile money taxes have caused a debate. To clarify, the tax on the sending and receiving of mobile money is 0.5% and not 1%. For the justification of these taxes, read my statement here: https://t.co/SLe1UFb7P2 4 July 2018 @ 16:52

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Telecommunication companies and social organizations also criticized the new law

President Museveni of Uganda, however, remains behind the law. He defended the tax on Twitter: according to him, social media is "a luxury used by those who are vain or malicious … all moral reasons are precisely for the benefit of the tax."