Good afternoon. The government is belatedly starting to try to integrate the huge number of payments made on electronic money platforms into the tax system (see below). Platforms like e-Mola, M-Kesh and M-Pesa have more accounts than there are adults in Mozambique. Many self-employed people, from market sellers to plumbers and electricians, accept payments via electronic money platforms, and up to now, have avoided paying tax on their earnings. Despite the explosion of e-money transfers in recent years, the tax system has not kept up.
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The law that was passed last month will mainly affect around 400,000 agents of the e-money platforms, who register accounts for customers and process cash withdrawals for them. Those agents will now pay a 10% tax on the commission that they charge on transactions, which itself is a small percentage.
