In East Africa, Cutting Mobile Taxes Today Would Boost Government Revenues Tomorrow

East Africans pay taxes of between 25% and 30% on mobile phone services, compared with an average of 17% across Africa, according to a study by consultancy Deloitte for the GSM Association, the global trade association for mobile phone operators, in collaboration with GSM Africa. If the governments in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya were to cut mobile taxes today, the study found that their total tax receipts would actually rise in the medium to long term.