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An overview of digital service taxation

raul Katz

Geneva: ITU (2025), xi, 36 pp.

"The study’s first major conclusion is that taxes imposed both on operators and on consumers remain in place in many countries around the world. At least 74 countries impose taxes on service providers, whether environmentally related, import duties on equipment or VAT on equipment purchases. Simil ... arly, 145 countries impose VAT on mobile services, while 74 apply import duties on mobile devices. Secondly, some nuanced geographic patterns in terms of taxation approaches can be teased out from the data. The group of countries exempting equipment purchases from taxation include advanced economies and some less developed countries. This would indicate that this group is not only composed of countries that do not require equipment taxation to increase revenues but also countries that prioritize maximization of network coverage (stimulated by lower equipment taxes) over tax collection. That said, there appears to be countries, mostly concentrated in the developing world, with some middle-income economies, that still prioritize tax collection from import duties on equipment. Thirdly, unlike with network equipment, many countries were identified that exempt consumer devices from import duty or device-specific taxes. Furthermore, several developing countries were found to tax the import of devices at an extremely high rate. However, some countries have established consumer device taxation approaches aimed at reducing the purchasing acquisition cost. At the other end, some countries appear to have imposed high taxation on consumer devices. In addition to taxes on devices, affordability of telecommunications/ICTs for consumers is affected by VAT paid on mobile telecommunications services, a fairly common practice across countries. Of all services to which VAT is applied, the most prevalent service is outgoing international traffic, where rates range between 2.75 per cent and 20 per cent. Finally, many countries have enacted a digital service tax to address perceived gaps in corporate income-tax systems. This approach imposes a tax on gross receipts derived from digital advertising, data mining and other types of digital platform revenue. A few countries have already implemented national approaches aimed at tackling profit shifting by digital platforms. While many countries did not report the application of digital service taxes in the ITU Tariff Policies Survey, of the 115 nations that provided a response, only 17 reported applying a digital service tax, and the percentage applied varies from 3% (Fance) to 21% (Argentina). This limited evidence prevents us from understanding what the current trend is in this domain." (Conclusion) more

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The impact of digital transformation on the economy: Econometric modelling

Raul Katz, Fernando Callorda, Juan Jung

Geneva: ITU (2025), xiii, 69 pp.

"This research applies econometric modelling techniques to examine the economic contribution of fixed and mobile broadband as well as digitization around the world. Building on a series of studies published by the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) it provides significant evidence on the ... more

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How broadband, digitization and ICT regulation impact the global economy: Global econometric modelling

Raul Katz, Fernando Callorda

Geneva: ITU (2020), vi, 50 pp.

"This study uses econometric modelling to examine two major components of great importance to all those concerned with investment decisions in ICT and the digital ecosystem over the coming decade. The modelling is built on data from 139 countries between 2007 and 2018 – an up-to-date data set that ... more

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The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media

Gerard Goggin, Larissa Hjorth (eds.)

New York; London: Routledge, paperback ed. (2017), xxiii, 558 pp.

"The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media seeks to be the definitive publication for scholars and students interested in comprehending all the various aspects of mobile media. This collection, which gathers together original articles by a global roster of contributors from a variety of disciplines, s ... more

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El ecosistema y la economía digital en América Latina

Raúl Katz

Madrid; Barcelona: Fundación Telefónica;Ariel (2015), xx, 399 pp.

"Las brechas de acceso a Internet al interior de los países y en relación con las naciones más desarrolladas se han reducido significativamente, en particular en lo que se refi ere a las tecnologías móviles. Este proceso ha sido resultado, en gran parte, de la disminución de las tarifas de acc ... more

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El papel de las TIC en el desarrollo: Propuesta de América Latina a los retos económicos actuales

Raúl L. Katz

Madrid; Barcelona: Fundación Telefónica;Ariel (2009), xii, 191 pp.

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Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies

James E. Katz (ed.)

Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press (2008), ix, 472 pp.

"This book offers a view of the cultural, family, and interpersonal consequences of mobile communication across the globe. Scholars analyze the effect of mobile communication on all parts of life, from the relationship between literacy and the textual features of mobile phones to the use of ringtone ... more