Cell Taxes 'Cost Africa in the Long Term'

"In Zambia 53% of every dollar spent on cellular services goes into government coffers, says the GSM Association's Senior Vice President Gabriel Solomon, and such punitive taxes deterred more private sector players from investing", reports allAfrica.com. And "GREEDY African governments that levy taxes on cellular handsets and services are preventing citizens from taking part in social and economic development, and cutting their own potential revenues, says a report issued yesterday.

"The instant cash that pours into government coffers from import duties of up to 46% is making cellular services artificially too expensive for millions of Africans. "

The Zedian has written a number of blogs highlighting the ever increasing importance of the mobile phone in facilitating social and economic development in mainly poor countries. One of my blogs talked about the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)'s Information Economy Report 2008 which observed that mobile phones and internet access are helping narrow the gap between rich and poor nations! In many developing countries the mobile phone had become the standard bearer for these changes.

Quite clearly, the mobile device is no longer that luxurious status symbol that it used to be in the late '90s when it first arrived on the African continent. It is now a necessity.

Surely then, is it not time that the undue luxury taxes were revised, in the interest of increasing mobile penetration?