- Cote d’Ivoire, Malawi, Republic of Congo, Uganda
Cowater undertook this research and analytical project to support the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (or GSMA), an industry association of mobile network operators, in their assessment of the impact and implications or various approaches to mobile money taxation practices in select countries. Cowater’s team of experts in tax and mobile money carried out desk and field based research in four countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Congo-Brazzaville, Malawi, Uganda) to inform and guide the research piece and policy recommendations. Mobile money has seen rapid adoption and popularity in developing country markets and has provided a mechanism to strengthen commerce and improve access to finance amongst the world’s poorest populations. This has led to increased government taxation of mobile money in various jurisdictions, often with significant impacts for the viability of mobile money as a mechanism of economic growth and leading differential negative impacts for already poorer and disadvantaged communities. This project sought to evaluate and assess the impacts of taxation on the mobile money sector in these four countries and identify the impacts of these various policies and practices on users as well as identifying potential recommendations and best practices in this emerging sector.
