Sri Lanka raises tax on mobile phones

Sri Lanka on Thursday sharply raised taxes on mobile phone users to help raise funds for extra government spending, officials said. The subscriber levy was hiked from 2.5 percent to 10 percent on all mobile phone bills, officials said.
Media Minister Anura Yapa said the move was aimed at raising revenue for additional government expenditure this year, including fuel subsidies for the country's fishermen.
The mobile phone sector is a success story in Sri Lanka's otherwise war-battered economy, with six million users out of a total population of 19 million.