TOUGH TIMES: Ugandan Facebook Users to Pay URA VAT Tax on All Adverts (See Details)

All Ugandan Facebook users buying ads through their accounts and pages will have to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) every time they make ad orders, Meta has announced.

Facebook has officially been suspended in Uganda since 2021. Ugandans can only access the social media network through VPN.

Talks to have the suspension lifted have reportedly been going on.

Now, Facebook has announced that the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) will be charging VAT on each ad bought on Facebook with the location of purchase being Uganda.

Facebook has given account and page holders up to the end of September 2022 to register their Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) ahead of the enforcement of the new tax next month.

“Beginning October 2022, Facebook ads in Uganda are subject to a value added tax (VAT) at the applicable local tax rate. This applies to advertisers whose ‘Sold To’
country on their business or personal
address is set to Uganda and who haven’t added their Tax Identification Number (TIN) to their Facebook ad account,” Facebook said in a notice.

The TIN can be added in payment settings and it will be included on receipts.

Facebook also explained how the tax will be deducted.

“In the payment settings, you can add your TIN so it’s shown on your ads receipts. If you add your TIN to your account: Facebook doesn’t add VAT to your purchase of Facebook ads, and You’re responsible for self-assessing and paying Uganda VAT under reverse charge in accordance with Section 5(1)(c)of Uganda Value Added Tax Law,” the tech giant explained.

“VAT is added whenever you’re charged for your ads, regardless of whether you’repurchasing Facebook ads for business or personal purposes.”

Meta, the company which owns Facebook, said it would share account information with tax collector URA.

In accordance with the Uganda Tax Procedures Code Act, Meta is required to share your information with the Uganda Revenue Authority.

Facebook gave an idea on how the new tax will affect advertisers.

“Because VAT is added on top of charges, you won’t reach your billing threshold faster, but you may be charged more than your billing threshold amount,” it added.

“If you pay for Facebook ads with a manual payment method, VAT is accounted for at the applicable rate when your ad account is funded to determine the total balance available.”

Facebook and its parent company Meta said they would not offer advice to advertisers regarding the VAT.

“Facebook isn’t able to give tax advice. If you have a question about taxes, we suggest that you contact your tax advisors or local tax authorities,” the social media giant concluded.

It should be remembered that months ago, Museveni made it clear that he had completely shut down Facebook, that Uganda could do without the social media platform. (Read Story Here).

Uganda has since launched its own version of Facebook. (Read About it HERE).