Good afternoon. Agents working for electronic money platforms are not happy. The government has from this month imposed a 10% tax on the commissions charged by these agents when people make transfers to and from their e-money wallets accessed on their mobile phones. These platforms, with names like M-Pesa and e-Mola, have become very popular for sending money in a country where many of the poor majority do not have access to a bank account. But the agents, who number around 400,000, say that they were not consulted about it and that the tax will prevent them from making a living. They have been protesting today outside the offices of mobile network operator Vodacom, and a nationwide protest is planned for Monday.
The full Daily Briefing continues below for Pro subscribers. Subscribers to the Zitamar News tier can read the top half, including the full leader article, here.
Up to now, the agents were not being taxed on their income, and one could argue that they ought to pay tax just as employed people do. On the other hand, the commission agents get on transfers is very small. Moreover, the lack of job creation in Mozambique means that many young people become agents on leaving school. With so many agents in the bigger cities, there is high competition for customers and not a lot of business to go round. Thus earning a living is already difficult. That is why they are so upset.
