Governments should consider reducing “discriminatory and burdensome” taxes on telecom...
Governments should consider reducing “discriminatory and burdensome” taxes on telecom goods and services because that would help drive adoption and use of broadband and other telecom services, the International Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday. Some governments continue to tax certain…
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goods and services within the telecom industry at higher rates than in other sectors, the ICC said in a discussion paper. It noted cases in Honduras, India, Malawi, Mexico, Montenegro and Slovakia in which such “discriminatory” taxes are in place. Such taxes are harming the long-term development of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, since raising consumer prices stifles the adoption and use of telecom services, the ICC said. While cutting these taxes would reduce revenue in the short term, the economic growth caused by increased competitiveness and broadband penetration would outweigh that loss, the ICC said. “The ICT sector brings the building blocks of opportunity to the global information based economy,” Eric Loeb, chair of the ICC Commission on the Digital Economy’s Task Force on Internet and Telecommunications, said in a news release (http://xrl.us/bn54eh).