Taxation and the Growth of Mobile in East Africa

Report

A study commissioned by the GSMA, in collaboration with GSM Africa, and carried out by Deloitte, on mobile taxation in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. East African mobile users face some of the highest taxes in the world, including an excise duty on services on top of VAT. The 136-page report estimates the economic and social contribution of mobile telephony in each country and models the effect of lowering excise duty on the industry, the economy and government revenues, arguing that reform could extend mobile access to poorer people and raise tax receipts over the long term.