From Reuters

Kenya’s leading mobile phone operator Safaricom cautioned the government against further rises in excise duty on mobile money transfers, saying there was a risk new county-level administrations would add to the tax burden.

Chief Executive Bob Collymore said on Thursday futher tax increases would put a service that has deepened financial inclusion, particularly in rural areas, beyond the reach of the poor.

The company said in May that a 10 percent tax imposed in late 2012 on transfers using its M-Pesa mobile service had forced it to absorb costs of 400 million shillings ($4.6 million) in the 2012/13 financial year to shield consumers from the full burden.

“Mobile money is still relatively new and Government should be wary of putting any additional tax burden on the customer, and in particular on the poor who rely on M-Pesa more than any other,” Collymore told the company’s annual general meeting.

Read more at reuters.com