STATEMENT BY CHIEF MINISTER BY HON. DR. D. ORLANDO SMITH, OBE,

GOVERNMENT TAX ON TELEPHONE BILLS

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Many of you are now being charged what is called a “Government Tax” on your personal telephone and cellular bills.

After consulting with licensed providers, the Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission was informed that this tax represents a combination of the Industry Levy and the Royalty which are imposed on telecommunications providers as stipulated under the Telecommunications Act, 2006.

However, Government has not imposed any tax or other additional charges on the telecommunications providers. Therefore, these taxes should not appear on your telephone bill and should not be imposed on any customer.

The Commission is looking into the matter with urgency.

Government expects full cooperation from all telecommunications providers.

Thank you