Safaricom Limited CEO Bob Collymore has said that the  tax burden following the introduction of a 10% excise duty on Mobile money transfer  will have to be borne either by the company's shareholders (of which Government represents 35%) or its customers. In an emailed statement to pesatalk, he said that there was need to ensure that the nation doesn't lose the momentum that has been achieved in the development of mobile money and its positive impact on the economy as a whole.

“It's early days as we're still studying the full implications of the proposed introduction of excise duty on mobile payments.  We're sympathetic to the revenue challenges that the  Government faces and will be engaging in a constructive dialogue with the Ministry on how best to implement this, " read the statement.

Earlier, Finance Minister Njeru Githae had however said that the duty will not affect the consumer in anyway, adding that it will be paid by the service providers. He had further warned that the government will monitor the mobile operators to ensure they don’t make any secret adjustments.

[Read: Will Duty on Mobile Money Affect You]

Tax experts have also commented on the same issue and from their views, increased consumer charges appear inevitable.  Nikhil Hira, a Tax leader at Deloitte EA told pesatalk, “Clearly this is going to make it more expensive unless - and this seems unlikely - the person making the charges is prepared to absorb the tax."