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The levy came into effect on Thursday and imposes a 12 percent excise duty on mobile data, pushing up costs in a nation already bogged down by sky-high data fees.
The new tax is part of a government initiative to raise revenue for public services and will replace a fiercely-contested social media tax<\/a> imposed in 2018, the minister of state for finance and planning, Amos Lugoloobi, told AFP on Friday.
\"The new mechanism is to help (the) government achieve its main objective of industrialisation for inclusive growth, employment and wealth creation,\" he said.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine, who led 2018 protests against the previous social media<\/a> tax, said on Twitter<\/a> that freedom of speech was under attack in a new form.
\"We must never stop protesting against these schemes by a paranoid, greedy regime,\" said the firebrand singer-turned-lawmaker -- who lost to President Yoweri Museveni in a January election.
The new tax will not be imposed on mobile data purchased for research, medical or educational purposes, but it remains unclear how that will be implemented.
- Adding to lockdown woes - Moses Serwanga, a communications consultant who doubles as a human rights lawyer, also criticised the tax.
\"With the current national (coronavirus) lockdown, many students have been getting educational materials, lectures through the internet<\/a>. Now it is very expensive for them because of the 12 percent tax,\" said Serwanga, voicing hope that the tax could be challenged in court.
\"The new tax will impact on businesses, freedom to access information which is a constitutional right, access to education, again a constitutional right,\" he added.
Internet user Mary Ruth Akol told AFP she was forced offline as she could not afford data with the new fees.
\"The new tax will worsen our situation during this Covid-19 lockdown. We are encouraged to stay home but without internet, it is a bad situation,\" she said.
As coronavirus cases and deaths surged to record highs, Museveni last month froze all public and private transport, and imposed a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew across the country of 45 million people.
Under the old arrangement, users of WhatsApp<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Skype<\/a> and other social media or so-called \"over the top\" services which publish content bypassing traditional distributors, were required to pay a compulsory daily fee of 200 shillings ($0.06,0.05 euros) before they could access the sites.
That tax triggered an immediate outcry with thousands of demonstrators facing off against anti-riot police to demand its abolition, fearing it could be used to curb free speech.
Most users turned to virtual private networks (VPNs) to disguise their location and skirt the tax, a trick learned during past elections when the government tried to shut down social media and clipped the projected revenues from the levy.
Museveni -- himself an avid Twitter user with 2.2 million followers -- at the time defended the tax, saying it will put an end to \"gossip\".
VPNs will not be of help this time round as the fees will be embedded in the cost of the data, Serwanga warned.
The East African country has some 18.8 million internet users, according to December 2020 data from the communications regulator.
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强烈抗议,乌干达人用互联网新税
这项新税收是政府计划的一部分,为公共服务和提高收入将在2018年取代竞争激烈社会媒体税实施,财政与计划的国务大臣,阿莫斯Lugoloobi,周五告诉法新社。
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周四生效征税和对移动数据征收12%的消费税,推高了成本在一个国家已经陷入困境的极高的数据费用。
这项新税收是政府主动提高收入的一部分公共服务并将取代竞争激烈社交媒体的税收2018年,实施财政部长和计划,阿莫斯Lugoloobi,周五告诉法新社。
“新的机制来帮助()政府实现其主要目标包容性增长的工业化,就业和创造财富,”他说。
反对党领袖Bobi酒,领导2018年抗议之前社交媒体税,称推特言论自由受到攻击的一种新形式。
“我们必须永远不要停止抗议这些计划的偏执,贪婪的政权,“说,煽动singer-turned-lawmaker——谁输给了总统约韦里·穆塞韦尼在1月的选举。
新税收不会对购买的移动数据研究,医疗或教育目的,但目前尚不清楚将如何实现。
锁定一个问题——摩西Serwanga通信顾问双打作为一个人权律师,也批评了税收。
“与当前国家(冠状病毒)封锁,许多学生已经获得教育材料,通过讲座互联网。现在是非常昂贵的,因为12%的税,“Serwanga说,表达希望税可以在法庭上挑战。
“新税将对企业的影响、自由获取信息是一项宪法权利,受教育的机会,又一项宪法权利,”他补充道。
互联网用户玛丽露丝Akol告诉法新社,她被迫离线,因为她买不起数据与新费用。
“新税在这Covid-19锁定会恶化我们的情况。鼓励我们呆在家里但是没有互联网,这是一个糟糕的情况,”她说。
冠状病毒病例和死亡飙升至创纪录高位,穆塞韦尼上个月冻结了所有公共和私人交通,并实行了严格的全天候的全国宵禁的4500万人。
在旧的安排下,用户的WhatsApp,脸谱网,Skype和其他社交媒体或所谓的“夸张”服务发布内容绕过传统的分销商,被要求支付义务的日常费用200先令(0.06美元,0.05欧元)之前,他们可以访问网站。
税收立即引发强烈抗议,数千名示威者与防暴警察面临要求其取消,担心它可以用来限制言论自由。
大多数用户转向虚拟专用网络(vpn)来伪装自己的位置和裙子的税,一个诡计学习在过去的选举中当政府试图关闭社交媒体和剪预计收入征税。
穆塞韦尼——自己一个狂热的Twitter用户有220万追随者——当时的税收进行了辩护,说它将结束“八卦”。
vpn将不会帮助这次的费用将嵌入数据的成本,Serwanga警告说。
东非国家有1880万互联网用户,根据2020年12月的数据通信监管机构。
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