Pollicy has released a report titled “Offline and Out of Pocket”exactly seven months after the social media and mobile money tax was enacted by the government last year.
The report explores how the new taxes have impacted the social and economic aspects of the day-to-day lives of Ugandans, and to further the cause for inclusive and equitable access to the internet since the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill 2018 was passed.
The report has revealed that there has been a significant drop in accessing social media with 33% of respondents that would access social media platforms more than 10 times a day prior to the tax dropping down to just 6.6% after the taxation.
The report also further found that around 56% of persons interviewed pay their social media taxes, whereas 38% continue to use a VPN to access “over-the-top” services.
On 1st July 2018, Uganda was the centre of global attention when a daily tax of 200 Ugandan Shillings ($0.05) was imposed on social media users if they wanted to access Over The Top(OTT) social media platforms offering voice and messaging services.
Simultaneously, a tax of 1% was also imposed on Mobile Money transactions in the country but was later revised and put to 0.5% on only withdraws. In November 2018, Pollicy did a poll to understand how perceptions towards the Social Media tax have evolved 5 months into its implementation in the areas of Kampala, Jinja, Gulu and Bushenyi.
The poll comprised three main sections: demographic information, perceptions on social media tax and perception on mobile money tax. The survey revealed that majority of respondents, 86% feel that the social media tax should be removed, with only 7.2% percent feeling that it should not be removed and 6.3% were neutral. Furthermore, 74% of respondents who used social media for business activities reported reduced income following the tax implementation.
The Social Media tax continues to be a subject of heated debate both offline and online and this report could be a drop in the ocean for many more findings that have emerged since it’s passing.
Get the full report here
Editors Note: This is a Press Release
