Turkcell CEO calls on government to lower telecommunication taxes

Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzio?lu has called on the government to lower taxes placed on the telecommunications industry and remove obstacles to investments for the rapid increase of Internet penetration.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Terzio?lu complained about high taxes, saying that no country in the world has such taxes in place. He also emphasized that the Special Communication Tax and wireless license fee which is collected in every subscription should be abolished for the penetration of Internet and prices to become cheaper.

"Moreover, another important issue that needs to be resolved is regulative and legal obstacles to investment. We believe that these obstacles, which negatively affect investments in our industry, should be removed for the penetration of Internet services and prices to become cheaper," Terzio?lu said. "Removing the Special Communication Tax and wireless license fee is crucial in accessing a cheap and high speed Internet," he added.

'Disputes should be solved urgently'

Underlining that disputes between operators and public institutions over the treasury share and similar financial obligations should be solved urgently, Terzio?lu said: "Ensuring easy access to information from all classes of society is crucial in the transformation process into an information society. Turkcell has been making a great effort to improve the communication infrastructure of Turkey and enable our subscribers to access the mobile and fixed Internet in the fastest and easiest way. Accordingly, facilitating the authorization to dig for fiber cables and decreasing digging costs is very important."

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