On May 29th, at the meeting of the Working Group on Stimulating and Maintaining Private Investments of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, chaired by the Foreign Investors’ Association (FIA), was discussed the issue regarding the monthly fee paid to the Republican and local Fund for Social Support of the Population by mobile operators in the amount of 2.5% of the revenue. The topic was included on the GL 3 agenda based on the FIA’s official letter to the Prime Minister from 21st of February, 2017.
- The tax was introduced in 2000 as a payment for luxury services (the so-called “luxury tax”). At the moment, the use of mobile phone operators is no longer a luxury one, with mobile phone penetration in Moldova exceeding 121%.
- In addition to this tax, mobile operators also make specific sectoral payments. The many additional charges negatively affect the access to these services, as well as the volume of investment in network development.
During the meeting, representatives of both telecommunication companies and state authorities expressed their opinions and raised their questions. The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MTIC) presented the draft law on amending and completing some legislative acts.
As a result, the participants in the meeting will send their proposals and comments on the draft law submitted by MTIC to the Secretariat of the Economic Council .
FIA members appreciate the openness of state authorities to business proposals and hope for continued collaboration in this regard.
