Rwanda considers imposing Netflix tax – report

The Rwandan authorities are considering a proposal to impose a tax on online services, the New Times website reports quoting an official from the tax collection authority.

The proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) is considered as “a necessary one”, Jean-Louis Kaliningondo of the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) is quoted as saying.

“When you pay for services such as Netflix, you are using money that you have generated in Rwanda. So, we are asking, why don’t we collect VAT on these services if they are being paid for by our citizens?” he posed.

African countries have increasingly been taxing digital services in efforts to broaden revenue collection.

Last year, Kenya introduced the Digital Service Tax (DST) that imposed a 1.5% flat tax on the value of goods or services sold on digital platforms.