The business community in the Benadir region announced the closure of markets in Mogadishu on Sunday, August 18th, to protest the government’s new 5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) set to be enforced on the same day.
This comes after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on Saturday evening, urged the public to comply with the 5% VAT on electronic payments, which applies to merchant transactions.
The President emphasized that paying this tax is crucial for Somalia to achieve self-sufficiency in income, aiming to reduce dependency on external aid.
However, the business community’s protest indicates significant resistance to this new policy.