Taxation

Mobile telecommunications have a positive impact on economic and social development, creating jobs, increasing productivity and improving the lives of citizens. Despite these beneficial outcomes, many countries impose mobile-specific taxes on consumers and operators, such as excise duties on mobile handsets and airtime usage, revenue-share levies on mobile operators, or a surcharge on international inbound call termination (SIIT), which effectively acts as a tax on citizens of other countries.

Taxes such as these have placed a disproportionate tax burden on the mobile sector, which can prevent countries from reaping the full benefits of mobile technology. The GSMA encourages governments to adopt accepted best practices in taxation, ultimately achieving greater affordability for consumers and removing a key financial barrier to digital inclusion.