Ugandan MPs Regret Imposing Tax on Diapers: “We Thought They Would Promote Homosexuality”
Ugandan Members of Parliament regret passing a financial law allowing the government to tax diapers for adults and children.
Are diapers taxed in Uganda?
Last year, the Daily Monitor reported that the MPs passed the Value Added Tax Amendment Bill of 2023, which proposed additional taxation for water bottles and diapers.
The move has seen the prices of baby and adult diapers increase significantly, making the commodity unaffordable to many Ugandans.
Sharon Aine Shaka blamed the legislators for subjecting Ugandans to a high cost of living, saying diapers’ prices had skyrocketed.
Diaper prices in Uganda
“People on the ground suffer at the hands of people in power! The Huggies diapers Jumbo size pack that we used to buy for UGX 58k (KSh 1,981) is now selling between UGX 87,000 (KSh 2,971) and UGX 90,000,(KSh 3, 074)” she posted on X.
Gossipa2z.com established that the Huggies Jumbo Pack open diapers and pants retailed at UGX 66,000 (KSh 2,254) and UGX 81,700 (KSh 2,790) on online shopping points.
In what was perceived as a bizarre way of looking at adult diapers, the MPs argued that very few adults needed adult diapers and approved their taxation. Their vote to pass the bill neutralized the government’s plan to exempt diapers from the tax bracket.
Why did Ugandan MPs want diapers taxed?
Just before the 2023 amendment was passed, Finance Committee Vice Chairperson Jane Pachuto argued that Uganda had few categories of older people using adult diapers.
“As a committee, we feel that there are few categories of older persons who use diapers, and they are really for medical use. No adult person will use diapers, and therefore, we should limit this exemption to only adult persons. When we allow this even for adults, so many people are going to use it, and yet they are non-degradable,” Pachuto argued.
It was unbelievable when a section of MPs expressed fear that exempting adult diapers from taxation would benefit homosexuals and passed the amendment bill to counter their imagined scenario.
Anti-homosexuality laws in Uganda
“We just passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and you know for a fact that the biggest number of people who use diapers for adults are homosexual people. So when you say diapers for adults, you will be benefitting homosexuals to a big extent,” Aisha Kabanda, Woman MP for Butambala District argued.
A year later, the MPs regretted passing the amendment.
They acknowledged that the move made diapers unaffordable for the elderly and people with disabilities who use them to protect their dignity.
Uganda has been on the spot for being intolerant to the LGBTQ community through the passage of anti-gay laws, a move that has seen the country sanctioned.
The US struck Uganda out of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in what was seen as part of the sanctions against the East African country’s stance on LGBTQ.
Ugandan MPs Regret Imposing Tax on Diapers: “We Thought They Would Promote Homosexuality”
