African governments hope digital taxes will fill a budget hole
Putting levies on mobile money is easier than taxing profits of multinationals
The digital economy is bringing Africans together. The same cannot be said for attempts to tax it. Levies on mobile and internet services have sparked street protests in Uganda, cabinet squabbles in Nigeria and a parliamentary brawl in Ghana. In August Congolese officials even confiscated the passports of telecoms executives to try to make them cough up.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Tempting—but not so easy”
Middle East & Africa October 15th 2022
- Peter Obi, a man who carries his own suitcases, could be Nigeria’s next president
- African governments hope digital taxes will fill a budget hole
- Despite lethal repression, Iran’s protests continue
- Hamas ponders whether to cosy up to Syria’s brutal despot
- Middle Eastern countries are sitting on an ocean of natural gas
From the October 15th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Middle East & Africa
America concludes genocide has been committed in Sudan—again
The move highlights the magnitude of Sudan’s civil war but does little to end it
Lebanon tries yet again to elect a new president
But it will not be easy to convince its corrupt politicians to reform
The West is making a muddle of its Syria sanctions
Outsiders should be much clearer about how and when they will be lifted
Alawites formed Syria’s elite. Now they are terrified
Fear of reprisal stalks the heartlands of the Assad regime
From inside an obliterated Gaza, gunfire not a ceasefire
In north Gaza the IDF is now facing “a bitter guerrilla war”
Mozambique’s opposition leader flies home into chaos
Will Venâncio Mondlane’s arrival on January 9th deepen or ease political crisis?