East African Wireless Telcoms to Lower or Remove Excise Taxes

Tanzania Uganda and Kenya are looking to lower or remove excise duty levied on mobile phone airtime.

A study carried out last year by consultancy Delloitte for the association of mobile telephone operators, GSMA has indicated removal or reduction of excise would result in increases in tax receipts in the long term.

The decision to lower excise, if adopted, will be contained either in the next budget reading (2007/2008) or the financial year after (2008/2009).

In Uganda, discussions in that direction are ongoing between the ministry of finance, planning and economic development, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the new ministry of ICT and communication.

"We are optimistic that the three governments will announce decreases in excise duty," Mr. Gabriel Solomon, director, government & regulatory affairs at the GSM Association told Business Week in a telephone interview last week.

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