KAMPALA – Telecom companies on Saturday, November 17, 2018, implemented the revised tax measures on mobile money transactions – from 1 percent to 0.5percent on withdrawals only.
The Parliament last month passed the controversial Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2018 that provides the amendment of mobile money tax of the 1% to 0.5% on withdraw transactions.
This was done through a count of votes by raising of hands.
In a total of 463 MPs, 288 MPs attended where 164 MPs were in favour of the controversial tax (0.5%) while 124 were against it and wanted the tax removed.
The implementation comes after the assenting of the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act (2018) into law by President Yoweri Museveni and gazetting of the bill into Uganda gazette.
In a statement, the President said the tax was a miscommunication as it was supposed to be half of 1%.
The 0.5% tax will not apply to other forms of mobile money transactions like payments, sending and receiving money and deposits.
Both MTN Uganda and Airtel have confirmed receiving official communication to adhere to the new arrangement.
In a statement by MTN Uganda issued Saturday morning, the company is opportunistic that the new arrangement will bring back mobile money customers.
“MTN hopes that the reduction in the tax will bring back mobile money customers who had been discouraged from using the service to the high cost of tax,” the company noted.
