The Social Media Tax is Real and Yes, You Should be Pissed
Jul. 6, 2018How would you like to pay taxes on your social media usage? You’re either laughing right now, or are getting angered by the sheer audacity with which I asked you that question.
While you and I might be sitting right now, spending our time on Facebook and WhatsApp, the Ugandan government has put into effect a law that will hinder (and in some cases completely stop) its citizen’s access to social media websites.
Social Media Tax: The What and The Why
So what is the Social Media Tax? Simply speaking, Ugandans will now have topay a daily sum of 200 Ugandan Shillings(roughly equivalent to 5 cents, or Rs. 3) to access a whole host of websites (some of which aren’t really social media websites at all).
A tax, that by no metric makes any sense, and is as weird in its reasoning as it is in its inception in the first place.Services and websites covered under the Social Media Tax
The Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, who ordered the tax in the first place has some choice words of reason to offer for this new tax. Reasons, that just like the tax itself, are as dumbfounded as they can be.
Here are some of the reasons the Ugandan President offered for this tax, and why he thinks its only fair for the people to pay it. Asreported by BBC, back in March, the Ugandan President complained to the Finance Minister of the country about online gossip and suggested that atax be introduced to “cope with consequences.”
He also said on Twitter,“[Social media is a] luxury by those who are enjoying themselves or those who are malicious…all the moral reasons are in favor of that tax.”I just wonder if he paid the 200 Shillings in tax or not.
He further added that Ugandan social media users were“endlessly donating money to foreign telephone companies through chatting or even lying.”
Understandably, people are protesting against the tax. There are a huge number of Ugandan people who are using the hashtag “#SocialMediaTax” to voice their unhappiness with the new tax.
Along with that, individuals, tech companies, and human rights organizations are suing the Ugandan government for impeding its citizens’ basic human rights of free speech.
Join me to thank these patriotic Ugandans who have filed a#SocalMediaTaxpetition today at the constitution court.@SilverKayondo@qataharraymond@BillOpio @Cyber__Line@iambagumaand Okiror Emmanuel. You have given us a strong foundation for the future of our digital industry.pic.twitter.com/jyEgV57lgV
The Ugandan President, who thinks that social media is being used by people to spread lies and gossip, is clearlytrying to trample on the voice of dissentin a country that has struggled with a corrupt government for years on end.
What’s more, the Ugandan government is also being blamed by many for breaking the laws of net neutrality by levying taxes on social media websites.
SEE ALSO:Net Neutrality is Dead in The US With “Restoring Internet Freedom” Taking Effect
If you’re wondering how any of this affects you, well, honestly it doesn’t unless you’re in Uganda. However, as responsible citizens of the world, and as responsible netizens we should be raising our voices against what’s happening in Uganda.
For people in Uganda, there aren’t many viable options left right now. While youcanuse VPN services to get around the tax, the Ugandan government and telecom companies have already started blocking a number of VPNs in the country. However, there are a huge number of VPN services out there, so if one service gets blocked out, you can always switch to another. You can take a look at our list ofVPNs to avoid Uganda’s social media tax, and use the internet tax-free while you still can.
So go ahead and raise your voice against the Social Media Tax. After all, the more number of people protesting this baseless, totally stupid and hostile tax, the more pressure it’ll put on the Ugandan government, and the faster we can expect this tax to go away.
Net neutrality is already dead in the US, let’s not let the world devolve into this absolute shitstorm now.
