{"id":100005,"date":"2017-06-30T06:30:34","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T11:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=100005"},"modified":"2017-06-29T20:08:04","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T01:08:04","slug":"taxes-tech-development-wins-loses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2017\/06\/taxes-tech-development-wins-loses\/","title":{"rendered":"Taxes versus tech development: who wins; who loses?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A discussion of the uneasy tension between many governments\u2019 efforts to generate revenue from imposing additional taxies on telecoms\/tech-related goods and services, and continued economic and social development of their countries.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Without a doubt, many countries worldwide, and especially those in the Caribbean, are strapped for cash. The sectors and industries that used to be major revenues streams are not as lucrative as they used to be. In response, countries need to diversify their economies, develop new revenue streams, and become more competitive. However, in the nearly 10 years since the Global Financial Crisis, realising those imperatives is easier said than done.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, and in the last 10 years, the provision and take-up of telecoms services have exploded across the region. With respect to the mobile\/cellular segment, for example, most Caribbean countries have subscriber density of at least 90 mobile\/cellular subscription for every 100 inhabitants, and frequently, the density is over 100. Hence, collectively, citizens are spending considerable sums on telecoms \u2013 both the equipment and services \u2013 which suggests that they have some disposable income \u00a0to engage in those activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the face of dwindling revenue from traditional sources, and over the past 10 years, increasingly, Caribbean governments have been relying on taxes to compensate for that shortfall. As a result, many countries either have introduced, or are in the process of introducing, some variation of a sales tax (e.g. Value Added Tax (VAT), or General Consumption Tax GCT)), that is payable on a broad range of goods and services, including for those related to \u00a0\u00a0telecoms\/technology. \u00a0However, increasingly, countries either have levied additional taxes, or have implemented a premium tax, on the telecoms\/tech industry. For example, <\/span><\/p>\n