The government has increased the tax on the mobile service to 18 per cent, cancelling the previous suggestions of one piaster per minute and SMS tax.
The new tax also includes an EGP 25 tariff on every SIM card sold, as stipulated in the ministerial decree that was published in the Official Gazette on Sunday.
Zeyad Morad, a Mobinil executive said the company cannot bear any taxes since the profit margin is already narrow, hence, the new taxes will be borne by the subscriber, “the sales taxes are paid by the customer in any country, the role of the company is to merely collect it,” he added.
At the time of writing Etisalat Egypt has not issued any statements, as it waits for the outcome of the director’s meeting. Ahmed Kamal, media relations officer at Etisalat said the issue has many complicated details, such as whether the transfer from one company to another will be considered as a new subscription, and if the reactivation of inoperative lines will be subject to the proposed tariff.
