Myanmar to scrap 5% phone card tax

29 May 2015
Myanmar to scrap 5% phone card tax
Photo: Mizzima

Myanmar has scrapped a proposed 5 percent tax on mobile phone top-up cards after lawmakers voted against the levy, Reuters reported on 28 May, quoting the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The tax was first announced by the telecommunications ministry on 19 May and was supposed to be imposed from next week. However, finance ministry officials quoted by the newspaper said it would be suspended and the issue revisited at a later stage.
The vote count on the levy and the transcript of the debate in parliament which took place on Wednesday were not published. It was not clear why the telecommunications ministry decided to scrap the tax.
Myanmar has three telecommunications operators. They are Qatar’s Ooredoo, Norway’s Telenor and MPT, a joint venture formed last year between the telecommunications ministry and the Japanese-owned KDDI Group.