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OTT Ends Today 30-6-2021; Government Moves to Scrap Social Media Tax after It Suffered Fate of Huge Criticism and Boycotting from Ugandans Since Its Introduction on 1-July-2018.


Payment for Over The Top (OTT) tax or using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to evade the social media tax in Uganda ends today.

Starting Thursday July 1, 2021 Ugandans will start accessing Internet services and all other social media sites without paying OTT.

Government abolished the Shs200 per day OTT tax and imposed a 12 per cent tax on Internet data in the new financial year.

It takes effect from tomorrow.

The social media tax was first introduced in 2018 amid resistance from the public.

Then Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine led streets protests in Kampala against the tax.

Government then decided to drop the tax, saying Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) failed to hit the target, collecting only Shs49.5bn out of the targeted Shs284bn from OTT for Financial Year 2018/2019.

OTT tax was abolished by 11th Parliament in the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act, 2021, and replaced with excise duty on Internet data.

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