Speaking to the East African Business Week, renowned economist Dr Prosper Ngowi, a Senior Lecture at Mzumbe University Business College when asked on the implications these tax introductions could bring to the country, he said that although Tanzania needs a lot of new sources of funds, recommending tax on mobile companies would mean transferring such costs to the users and therefore reducing the rate of communication in the country.
He said that the transfer of mobile money in telecommunication companies was being done in relatively small amounts and this benefitted a lot the senders and recipients from these transactions.Taxing mobile companies and or customers meant that users will end up suffering more.
"People are moving away from companies that charge for receiving money to those that are not charging, even if it is Tsh.1,000" Ngowi said adding that the government should make sure that such taxes be introduced on telecommunication companies expenses."
He noted that besides the size of the market, tax was also one of the many factors that both foreign and local investors look out for as far as investment was concerned and that conducive taxes was an avenue to attract investment.
Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Communication, Science and Technology could not be reached for comment on whether government was also considering it as a step of sourcing for areas of increasing government revenues in order to prepare the country to become independent as far as the budget is concerned.
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