Tax on mobile money transactions: The end does not justify the means

It is not clear how much empirical work has been done to determine the potential impact of this tax on mobile money transfers. A recent study by the Global System for Mobile Communications (commonly known as ‘GSM Association: GSMA’)titled ‘The causes and consequences of mobile money taxation: An examination of mobile money transaction taxes in sub-Saharan Africa’ points out some of the consequences of such taxes. Among them is the following: “Many mobile money users belong to marginalised societal groups, and the negative impact on financial inclusion and broader development goals is significant. This user profile - and the fact that these taxes don’t extend to the banking sector - strongly suggests that they are regressive in nature, undermining the fundamental concept of tax equity.”

Tax on mobile money transactions: The end does not justify the means

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