From July, Kenyans may have to pay more for calls and use of the internet if a proposal to increase excise duty on telephone and mobile data services is enacted.
This is after Parliament’s departmental committee on finance and national planning proposed the excise duty be increased from 15 per cent to 20 per cent.
The new amendment was initially not included in the Finance Bill of 2021.
The Finance Act of 2018 introduced excise duty on telephone and mobile data services from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Peter Ndegwa, the Safaricom CEO says if assented into law, the new tax would be a burden to their customers as they will bear the cost.
“Our plea to the government is to rethink this tax increase given the current economic environment. Mobile services have come to support a majority of people who have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic relying on mobile services to work from home, learn or earn a living. The increase will thus only intensify the negative impact on our people.”
