sandee Government of Uganda has dropped the Over The Top tax (OTT) that was imposed on Ugandans to pay for usage of social media. This came after the Excite Duty Amendment Bill 2021 was passed.
The new bill repealed the Excite Duty Act that enabled all Ugandans to pay shs200 daily to be able to access any social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram to mention but a few.
On this new bill, a 12% Excite Duty was imposed on all internet bundles excluding data being used for research, educational and medical purposes.
The OTT tax that was introduced in 2018 was opposed by majority of the public hence the Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi joining in the protests against the tax that he termed violent and repressive to the rights of Ugandans.
Early this year, the Unwanted Witness, a civil society organization urged government to drop the OTT tax.
“Individuals should be able to access, use, create, publish digital media through the use of ICT means because they have the digital human rights that are legal and therefore should be protected,” said Dorothy Mukasa, the Executive Director of Unwanted Witness at a function in Kampala.
According to her, the tax was a hindrance to the growth of ICT in Uganda.
