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| Uganda to tax mobile money transfers | Uganda to tax mobile money transfers |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Uganda is to impose a 10% tax on cash transfers by mobile phones and other money transfer operators. | Uganda is to impose a 10% tax on cash transfers by mobile phones and other money transfer operators. |
| International remittances from Ugandans living abroad are also affected. | |
| Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka said she also planned to raise $16.5m (£10.6m) by imposing a levy on incoming international phone calls. | Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka said she also planned to raise $16.5m (£10.6m) by imposing a levy on incoming international phone calls. |
| Ms Kiwanuka had to come up with ways to plug a $214m hole in the annual budget after donors cut aid over accusations of corruption. | |
| The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga in the capital, Kampala, says there has been criticism that the budget - presented to parliament on Thursday - will hit poorer Ugandans hardest. | The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga in the capital, Kampala, says there has been criticism that the budget - presented to parliament on Thursday - will hit poorer Ugandans hardest. |
| According to Uganda's private Daily Monitor newspaper, the new mobile money transfer tax could affect the 8.9 million customers using six mobile phone networks in Uganda. | According to Uganda's private Daily Monitor newspaper, the new mobile money transfer tax could affect the 8.9 million customers using six mobile phone networks in Uganda. |
| The government hopes to raise $12m annually from the tax, it reports. | The government hopes to raise $12m annually from the tax, it reports. |
| Mobile money transfers are extremely common in Uganda, as only a small percentage of the population has bank accounts. | |
| Transfers are used to send money to relatives and even settle some bills. | |
| "It's very unfortunate that Ugandans are being squeezed both ways," Simon Mpagi, a mobile phone money transfer agent, told the Reuters news agency from his retail shop in Kampala. | "It's very unfortunate that Ugandans are being squeezed both ways," Simon Mpagi, a mobile phone money transfer agent, told the Reuters news agency from his retail shop in Kampala. |
| "They steal our taxes and donor money... leaving public services to near-collapse and now when donors get angry and cut them off, then they come to us and punish us again by raising taxes to grab even the little income we struggle to make." | "They steal our taxes and donor money... leaving public services to near-collapse and now when donors get angry and cut them off, then they come to us and punish us again by raising taxes to grab even the little income we struggle to make." |
| Phiona Wall, communications manager at mobile phone company Airtel Uganda, said she felt there were contradictions in the budget. | Phiona Wall, communications manager at mobile phone company Airtel Uganda, said she felt there were contradictions in the budget. |
| "In telecom we are trying to increase affordability and things like mobile money transfer revolutionised money transaction so when you increase tax, there is a contradiction," she told Uganda's state-owned New Vision newspaper. | "In telecom we are trying to increase affordability and things like mobile money transfer revolutionised money transaction so when you increase tax, there is a contradiction," she told Uganda's state-owned New Vision newspaper. |
| Last October, a draft report by the auditor general of Uganda found millions of dollars had been transferred from Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi's office into private accounts. | Last October, a draft report by the auditor general of Uganda found millions of dollars had been transferred from Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi's office into private accounts. |
| Mr Mbabazi has acknowledged that money has been stolen from his office, but denies any involvement. | Mr Mbabazi has acknowledged that money has been stolen from his office, but denies any involvement. |
| The stolen money has been returned. | The stolen money has been returned. |