The Causes and Consequences of Mobile Money Taxation

Mobile money taxation is a controversial subject. On the one hand mobile money has been something of a development success story in those countries where it has taken hold. On the other, developing countries face a range of issues when it comes to raising sufficient revenue to fund public services.

This paper from the GSMA takes a fresh look at the subject of mobile money taxation through the lens of taxation and development. With a focus on four sub-Saharan countries where mobile money transaction taxes have been proposed, it seeks to understand what the motivating forces are for these taxes and identify some of the unintended consequences.