Uganda announces plan 'to impose daily tax on social media users' from July
Starting from July 2018, Uganda plans to impose a daily tax on social media users in a bid to raise revenue, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija told Reuters news agency.
The move has been criticised by rights activist Rosebell Kagumire who
said: “It’s part of a wider attempt to curtail freedoms of expression.”
Earlier this month, President Yoweri Museveni who has
been in power for more than 30 years was quoted by Uganda's privately
owned Daily Monitor newspaper as saying in a letter to Mr Kasaija and
other officials that a tax should be introduced on people who use social
media for "gossip".
"I am not going to propose a tax on internet use for educational,
research or reference purposes these must remain free," he was quoted as
saying.
The proposed tax will see each mobile phone subscriber who uses
platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter being charged, Reuters
reports. The amount is unclear at the moment but Reuters reports that Mr
Kasaija said it will be 200 Ugandan shillings ($0.027) a day, while
State Minister for Planning David Bahati is quoted by the Daily Monitor
as saying it will be 100 shillings.
“We’re looking for money to maintain the security of the country and
extend electricity so that you people can enjoy more of social media,
more often, more frequently,” Mr Kasaija told Reuters.
No comments
Your comments and Encouragement are welcome