The possible introduction of excise duties on mobile telephony services would be the wrong move, counterproductive for both the sector and citizens, said Ivica Mudrinić, CEO of T-HT, today while commenting on this week’s mention of the possibility that the introduction of these excise duties could be one of the anti-recession measures.
Such a proposal was not mentioned at yesterday's government session, which adopted the first package of ten anti-recession measures, and in response to a journalist's question about whether he senses that they might be introduced considering the announced budget rebalancing, Mudrinić says he senses nothing, that such a measure would certainly reflect on the operators' business, their revenues, but also on investments in "telecom or 21st-century infrastructure." For employers, this is absolutely unacceptable, as it would "kill" the only sector that is ready for significant investments in Croatia even in times of crisis. On the other hand, for citizens, who almost all have mobile phones and primarily use the cheapest mobile service SMS, this would be an additional tax, and they would actually bear the burden of such a measure, which again does not contribute to improving their standard of living, says Mudrinić. Therefore, he believes that this issue will be reconsidered and that the real effects of such a measure on citizens, revenues, and further investments by operators will be examined.
Vipnet also emphasizes that any potential excise duties on mobile telephony services would be an additional tax and a shock to citizens, an imposed way of increasing costs. The telecom industry has proven that even in times of recession, it continuously lowers the prices of its services, thanks to increased operational efficiency, Vipnet states. They assess that such a measure would have a similar impact as recent regulatory activities, which they note are already causing consequences and for which Vipnet alone will allocate an additional approximately 50 million kuna from its profits this year. All of this reduces the possibility of investments, thereby questioning the success of many small and medium-sized companies, their suppliers, and partners involved in telecommunications infrastructure, Vipnet believes. Tele2 states that "mobile communication today is a basic necessity without which one cannot live, and not a luxury that would require the introduction of additional burdens," and that users should be spared from additional burdens.
