Why a 33% smartphone tax contradicts Cameroon’s digital goals

Countries that have successfully transitioned into digital economies first prioritized connecting citizens and reducing technology costs. Cameroon’s new 33.33% tax on smartphones—ranging from 1,670 FCFA for basic models to 135,000 FCFA for premium devices—directly undermines this approach. The tax applies simply for the right to use a device within the country, making digital inclusion conditional on payment.

From rhetoric to reality: the state’s contradictory stance

Government officials repeatedly emphasize digital transformation, economic innovation, and technological advancement. Yet this levy contradicts those very aspirations. For millions of Cameroonians, smartphones are not luxuries but essential tools for daily life:

• The student accessing online courses
• The trader processing payments via Mobile Money
• The farmer checking market prices
• The artisan connecting with clients on WhatsApp
• The informal worker accessing public services digitally

Taxing these devices effectively charges citizens for entry into the digital economy the state claims to build. In a country where average incomes struggle to absorb additional costs, this policy risks organized digital exclusion.

The harsh reality: no alternatives, no industry

This measure is particularly indefensible given Cameroon’s industrial context. The country has no domestic smartphone manufacturing—no assembly plants, no developing alternatives, nothing. Citizens are forced to import devices and now face taxation for using what they’ve imported, with no local substitutes available. The logic of protecting local industry through import taxes only makes sense when alternatives exist. Without them, the policy becomes pure revenue extraction from an already burdened population.

What’s next? Expanding the tax base?

If this logic extends beyond smartphones, where does it stop? Will laptop computers or office equipment be next? Each new tax widens the digital divide between those who can afford connectivity and those who cannot. The smartphone, already a basic tool for the many, now faces a 33.33% surcharge. There’s no guarantee tomorrow’s devices won’t face similar treatment, each levy deepening the fracture.

Following the wrong path while others advance

Globally, nations are investing in digital inclusion to boost competitiveness. Cameroon is moving in the opposite direction. A connected citizen is a productive citizen; a connected population is a competitive economy. This isn’t ideology but documented reality in every African digital development report.

Making smartphones more expensive doesn’t just hurt affordability—it makes Cameroon less competitive. If laptops follow tomorrow, the country risks abandoning its own future.