LILONGWE, Malawi—Malawi may become the first country to tax mobile transactions.
Malawi's minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha has introduced a 1% withholding tax on all mobile money transactions, Web Africa reported.
In his 2019/2020 national budget, presented recently to parliament, Mwanamvekha said the tax will ensure that more people are motivated to contribute towards national building and government has a scope to improve service delivery.
However critics have voiced concern that the tax will threaten financial inclusion because mobile money operators will raise the cost of transactions, Web Africa said.