The proposed budget for the new fiscal year includes a plan to completely abolish the Tk 300 tax imposed on the purchase of new mobile SIM cards.
As part of efforts to boost the country’s information and communication technology (ICT) sector, the government is set to forgo an estimated Tk 12 billion (Tk 1,200 crore) in revenue through this measure.
However, industry stakeholders believe that ordinary consumers are unlikely to receive any direct benefit from the tax waiver.
According to analyses of the telecommunications sector, the removal of the SIM tax is expected to increase the profits and financial gains of multinational mobile network operators. However, it is unlikely to result in lower internet costs or reduced mobile call rates for consumers.
As a result, critics argue that the benefits of this substantial tax concession will ultimately accrue to large telecom companies, while ordinary people will see little or no direct advantage from the government's revenue sacrifice.
