Grenada’s Minister of Finance, Hon. Nazim Burke, last week informed the nation during a sitting of the House of Representatives, that come February 2010, a 20 per cent Value Added Tax will be charged on mobile services in the country. According to the Finance Minister, this was one of the many recommendations coming out of the various budget consultations that were held over recent weeks. The mobile phone industry is arguable one of the fastest growing industries in the country and Grenadians have not only been purchasing several cell phones in some instances but have been spending longer periods chatting on their mobile phones. There are approximately 109, 000 cell phone users in the country and about half of them are young people under the age of 19. According to Minister Burke, there were 79 million minutes of talk time in 2007 and that figure leaped to 115 million in 2008 which amounts to millions of dollars. The Finance Minister also made mention of the ‘informal sector’ where business is conducted via mobile phone. Usually, persons involved in this sector are able to escape taxation; however, the VAT imposed on mobile services will ensure that they pay tax. Hon. Nazim Burke informed the House of Representatives that Government Officials had already held met with the three telecommunication providers on the island and that there was some degree of resistance but he believes that this is the way for the administration to go. From February 01, 2010, there will be taxes on phone cards, voice calls and data transfer or texting.