Ugandans outraged as social media tax becomes effective

salim segawa 12:39 - 01 July 2018

Social media users in Uganda are angered by new social media tax

A section of Ugandans woke up to no access to their favorite social media platforms after the governments new tax on social media platforms came into effect on Sunday.

Twitter users are reacting to the new social media tax expressing disappointment.

The tax seeks to give users access to social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram among others after paying Over-The-Top (OTT) services tax to Uganda Revenue Authority, the country's tax collecting body, through their service providers.

A handful of Ugandans have already installed Virtual Private Network (VPN) mobile apps to bypass the UGX200 daily tax.

Country's giant telecommunication companies on Friday issued a joint statement with guidelines on how their customers should pay the tax.

Users will access social media services like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn among others, upon payment of UGX200 daily, UGX1,400 weekly or UGX6,000 monthly. Validity ends 11.59PM.

The tax, which was part of the amended the Excise Duty Bill, 2018, seeks to generate an additional revenue of UGX400bn annually, according to the president's estimation.

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