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Benin Becomes the Latest African Nation Taxing the Internet; Citizens and Advocates Denounce the Move (qz.com)

Posted by msmash on from the world-dispatch dept.

Benin has joined a growing list of African states imposing levies for using the internet. From a report: The government passed a decree in late August taxing its citizens for accessing the internet and social-media apps. The directive, first proposed in July, institutes a fee of 5 CFA francs ($0.008) per megabyte consumed through services like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter. It also introduces a 5% fee, on top of taxes, on texting and calls, according to advocacy group Internet Sans Frontieres (ISF). The new law has been denounced, with citizens and advocates using the hashtag #Taxepamesmo ("Don't tax my megabytes") to call on officials to cancel the levy. The increased fees will not only burden the poorest consumers and widen the digital divide, but they will also be "disastrous" for the nation's nascent digital economy, says ISF's executive director Julie Owono. A petition against the levy on Change.org has garnered nearly 7,100 signatures since it was created seven days ago.

32 comments

  1. Tax FB use, fine, not the internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FB is garbage fluff that spies on you, tax that to oblivion absolutely. The rest of the internet shouldn't be punished because Zuckerberg is a perpetually-prepubescent thief.

  2. Well... by no-body · · Score: 1

    Let's see how this idea spreads... I see $-images in eyes blinking, and heart rates increasing.

  3. 7,100 Signatures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    In seven days. That's a thousand a day, while Benin has a population of about ten million. Doesn't sound like there's much of a problem.

    1. Re:7,100 Signatures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or nobody cares about change.org

  4. Pithy subject line here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd say something pithy about how this'll help keep Benin a "developing" country for the time being, but, you know, taxing communications services like telephone service is a thing in "developed" countries too. Like the US, for one.

    1. Re:Pithy subject line here by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      but, you know, taxing communications services like telephone service is a thing in "developed" countries too. Like the US, for one.

      ...at a rate equivalent in impact to around $0.2 per MB?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  5. Trump is toast. Get a rope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    36% approval, lol! Dead meat walking. What a dumb traitor, get a rope. https://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2018/08/31/National-Politics/Polling/question_20686.xml?uuid=UnUesq0MEeiafc0wUE_5Ag

  6. why bother? by AndyKron · · Score: 2

    I'm sure the officials of what-the-fuck really care who signs Change.org petition.

    1. Re:why bother? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but but muh voice!

  7. Another Morally Bankrupt Government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    I'm sick of haring from socialists who justify the theft of others money because it somehow magically becomes justified if we put it to a vote. We have many examples of horrible atrocities including genocides being committed by those who were elected. It's one thing to defend yourself, or voluntarily join up with others to do so. However the moment you start stealing from others to achieve your social or political objective you have morally bankrupted your cause. There is nothing wrong with charity and I'm very charitable personally. I've contributed financially and done a bit of volunteer work myself, but to redistribute wealth by force via taxes be it to a suffering person or corporate welfare it's morally fucked up.

    1. Re:Another Morally Bankrupt Government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you. It's called making everyone contribute for the common good. It's absolutely OK to compel someone who has more than enough to survive many times over to give a little to someone who is suffering. To value money more than human dignity is much more morally bankrupt.

      Now, as to whether someone without Internet access is suffering on the same level as someone with a disease of no fault of their own needing medical care is a separate issue.

    2. Re:Another Morally Bankrupt Government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a good way to not pay tax. Don't work or don't get income. Or work only a little so that you earn say $10k a year. Not easy though in the US where you will all too easily be denied healthcare because it's so corrupt and rigged. Private healthcare interests tax you disproportionately, conspire to keep prices sky high (hospital and medicine) and run death panels.
      Charity manages to be less efficient and more corrupt than government, so whatever floats your boat, give to charity but don't take it as an excuse to fraud the IRS or whine about your taxes.
      I don't understand why people who give to charity get tax cuts. When the poor give cash to homeless, they don't file for tax cuts on their donations.

    3. Re:Another Morally Bankrupt Government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And of course you get to decide who has enough to survive many times over, right? You also get to decide what is or isn't dignity.

      Make no mistake: every "developed" country has already gone down the road of compulsory taxation. That debate is already over. In the United States, we tell ourselves that it's okay as long as we get representation. Too bad the representation model is irrevocably damaged. There are many who get representation without paying any taxes on income at all (due to exemptions and credits that routinely render their tax bill to $0). The only taxes they DO pay (FICA) are completely unrelated to the taxation/representation equation. They feed into mandatory social services equation, which is also a farce since those programs are slowly going bankrupt despite being propped up by taxes paid by immigrant workers who have no political representation at all:

      https://www.vox.com/2018/4/13/17229018/undocumented-immigrants-pay-taxes

      Hell some of those immigrants pay income tax AND FICA. Some just FICA. They can't apply for EIC. Suckers.

      Regardless, the old saw of "no taxation without representation" is broken in the US. We now have representation without taxation. And you wonder why we have so many monied lobbyist groups? 46% of Americans pay no income tax at all, and yet they expect to dictate to the other 54% how that income tax money is going to be spent. They also expect to control if and when we'll engage in borrowing to prop up spending projects in excess of federal receipts.

      The 54% (and let's be realistic, it's more like the top 1-5%) have decided to just straight-out corrupt the entire political system with graft and patronage at every level of government to steer the system into their control.

      So! As a consequence, on the one hand you have monied interests that routinely control the government at every level, and on the other hand you have grifters that expect full representation at every level of government without actually contributing anything to federal coffers (and often without paying any state income tax either). The poor fools who pay their taxes and find that the representation model has been screwed up by the rich AND the poor - often called the "middle class" - take it up the hindquarters from everyone else.

      But hey let's forget all about that. Keep on contributing to the common good, even when there IS NO COMMON GOOD. There is only common evil. Taxation models are great! There's nothing wrong, at all! Eat the rich! To hell with anyone that thinks otherwise.

      And who gets to decide who is rich, before we eat them? People like you, and the groupthink masters who helped to create whatever narrative it is you are parroting.

  8. Same everywhere I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    In France too there are taxes (other than usual taxes) that are specially devoted to ISP.
    This was supposed to help the movie/music makers or public TV.

    There were even more (per gb) taxes planned which would have funded (public) fiber networks but there were abandonned (until now)

  9. Too cheap ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Got an email from the Prince of Benin who is charging a LOT more.

  10. No Inernet taxes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I do not believe that using the Internet should be taxed. I also do not believe that any transaction over the internet should be taxed.

  11. Freedom of speech? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wish all the bogus VoIP phone callers had to pay for each connection and the same for SMS and email. Sender pays would be great!

    Let the receiver mark every call/sms/email as "payer pays" to be connected. Effectively free harassment isn't a good thing, even if I love freedom of speech.

    Just because someone else is has a right to freedom of speech, that doesn't mean I don't have the right NOT to listen.

  12. Tax it more!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Left loves to tax anything except things that they spend money more. But one way to fund education and healthcare is to tax Internet usage much much much more. The Internet is not an essential service despite what the Left says! They are just too lazy to go out and work...

  13. BENIS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Benis.

  14. Tricky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm opposed to it as a tax but I could understand fining people who use Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.

  15. White people are fucking evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure this is their fault somehow!

  16. this is why niggers should never be in charge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    colonialism was good and we should bring it back

    1. Re:this is why niggers should never be in charge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL

  17. You're taxed on it in the US too by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 2

    Drill down into your telecommunications bills (Verizon, AT&T, etc) and you'll see a laundry list of regulatory taxes and fees.

  18. That's $9.11 per gigabyte by Target+Drone · · Score: 1

    Looks like 5 Francs is actually $0.0089 USD. This works out to $9.11 per gigabyte. Ouch! Better stay away from any video streaming.

    1. Re:That's $9.11 per gigabyte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would compression be tax evasion in this country?

  19. DON'T think it can't happen everywhere by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Surprised the U.N. hasn't mandated every nation do this, and send the funds to them, to be re-distributed (while the higher up's keep 99% for themselves of course, as "administration fees")

    1. Re:DON'T think it can't happen everywhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now that we have heard from the "no clue what the United Nations does but I hate them because a talking head told me to" opinion, we can make it through the day.

  20. destroy internet economy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For most people prolly best to destroy the internet/digital economy ... and return to an early guild/craft 1950s model. No GOOGLE no Walmart no cellphone no manufactured imports . Lots of grouse and brook trout and chalk lectures and slide-rules. Good enough for the moon ... good enough for the hayloft. Natch I exclude hard-core medical items.

  21. So? We do it in Sweden too. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    25% tax on internet fees.

  22. Companies and governments too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Surely this affects any companies or governments as well?

  23. Only 5% ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Make it 500% ... All those Nigerian pronces can afford it, and if they can't maybe I'll get less spam. Seems like a win win.