Outcry as Ugandans hit with new internet tax

Kampala: Ugandan internet users have been hit by a new tax on mobile data in a move the country’s opposition leader branded a new assault on freedom of speech.

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 imposed in 2018, the minister of state for finance and planning, Amos Lugoloobi, told AFP on Friday.