M-Pesa users spared higher taxes on Treasury U-TurnThe Treasury has rescinded plans to raise excise duty on mobile money transfers, handing relief to millions of users reliant on such services, including Safaricom’s M-Pesa. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u reversed plans to raise excise duty on mobile transfer agencies from 15 percent to 20 percent. Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that the value of mobile money transactions hit Sh7.95 trillion in 2023, marking a marginal 0.57percent growth from Sh7.9trillion the previous year. This was the slowest pace of growth in the value of mobile money transactions in four years. According to analysts at consultancy firm KPMG, the number of mobile money transactions is likely to decline, hurting excise duty collection.
