For every Tk100 mobile recharge, the govt takes Tk28
The increase in supplementary duty on mobile phone talk time and internet usage means mobile usage costs will increase by another Tk5
Although there is little chance of the era of missed calls returning, calling your near and dear ones will now cost you more.
Earlier, for every Tk100 recharge in mobile phones, people get only Tk75 as talk time and also for internet use as the government gets about Tk25 as value-added tax (VAT), supplementary duty, and surcharge.
Now, the government will get Tk28.
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Supplementary duty on mobile phone talk time and internet usage will be hiked by five percentage points.
So, people's mobile phone use costs will increase by another Tk5, in every Tk100 recharge and their usable amount will shrink to less than Tk62. In the case of internet usage, costs will also increase by Tk5.
Dr Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), told TBS, "It's a wrong decision to further increase tax on talk time and internet usage, as the country's telecom sector already has one of the highest tax rates in the world."
