It’s human nature to want liberty and freedom. Right now, many people are looking for ways to dodge Social Media tax. I guess Google is binged with “How to avoid Social Media tax” queries. This is all for one reason, Ugandans love freedom.
In Mexico, Germany, Austria the law recognizes that it is basic human nature to escape and hence the act of escaping itself is not a crime. The desire for liberty is viewed as a basic human right. However, one may be punished for any other crime that you commit during your escape. Some Ugandans may want to escape from this tax. However, we are not yet sure about the punishment that awaits evaders.
The social media tax that was approved by parliament will be effective beginning July 1st, 2018. The UGX 200 tax on OTT services was not well received by Ugandans when the President first suggested it. To many Ugandans, socialmedia is the internet. Taxing it only means they are about get crafty -trust me, Ugandans get really crafty.
How to avoid paying social media tax
Social Media tax evaders have already come up with measures that will allegedly help them in this mission. The mission is to avoid paying social media tax and still have access to OTT services. The ideas are really interesting and could make you think Albert Einstein was a Ugandan. Only he could be this smart! Almost every system has a loop hole, and the crafty minds want to leverage on that. Below, we share various ways some Ugandans plan to employ to avoid Social Media Tax.
Using VPN services to dodge Social Media tax
A virtual private network (VPN) enables users to send and receive data while remaining anonymous and secure online. The VPN disguises a person’s IP address and doesn’t reveal it’s true origin.
VPN’s are a common global method of accessing internet services while masking the nature of the internet service being used. Ugandans already have a positive history with VPN services. When the government switched of social media during the 2016 general election, crafty Ugandans used VPNs to stay connected.
VPNs may not work
However, VPNs may not save you from the Social Media tax since some of the most common ones have been listed as OTT services themselves. This is basically to deter any chance of a user connecting to OTT services without paying the tax. For this reason, the operators will block access to VPN’s that the authorities declare to be used for OTT services, unless the consumer has paid their OTT TAX.
Using Public WiFi
Necessity is the mother of invention. The need to dodge tax has identified public WiFi networks as a way out. Social Media tax will be levied on each SIM card that accesses OTT services. Only SIM cards that have paid the tax will be granted access. However when using WiFi, operators have no control over the data you access. The evaders have pointed out services like RokeSpots and WiMax routers as a possible get away from the social media tax.
Pointing your device to another country.
Am not so sure how they will pull this off. But allegedly restoring your handset to factory settings and choosing another country will work like a charm.
Leaving the country
Hell yeah! Some people have given this a thought. Do they feel oppressed? Is the UGX 200 Social Media tax so huge? Or the people are just into dodging stuff? Well, leaving the country will do for those that want to dodge Social Media tax and can afford flights.
Quit Social media after all.
The social media tax is specific in nature. It will be charged for access to OTT services. So here’s the thing. Quit social media and avoid the tax. Lol?. You could probably get some good relaxation time, free from all the likes count fuss. Trust me, you won’t get taxed for that.
Important Note.
Telecom companies have come out to indicate the official USSD codes that will be used to pay the Social Media tax. We strongly advise you to use those codes so that you continue enjoying social media after 30th June.
A good citizen has a duty of paying taxes, even if it is on Social Media. Be a good citizen!
