A Facebook ad bought anywhere in Southern Africa leaves almost nothing in the country where it runs. The local newspaper it replaced was registered locally, charged VAT locally, paid corporate tax on its profit and employed local journalists. That ad money now goes to Google and Meta, and the profit is booked in Ireland or another low tax jurisdiction. South Africa has made foreign digital suppliers charge 15% VAT since 2019. The corporate tax and the jobs are still gone almost everywhere on the continent. Who should collect the tax on a local ad? #GlobalArbitrage #SouthAfrica #Namibia #TaxPolicy #AfricaBusiness