MTN Group last financial year made a total tax contribution of $3.3 billion (R61.7 bn) across its 19 markets.

As the pan-African mobile giant inches closer to celebrate their 30th anniversary next month, it recently released its 2023 Tax Report which details that the overall economic contribution of the Group across its markets goes beyond just the corporate taxes it pays.

MTN Group Chief Financial Officer Tsholo Molefe underlined that the company makes "impactful socio-economic contributions" to society through an evolving tax environment across the world and in Africa.

“These represent significant contributions to the fiscus of the jurisdictions in which we operate. These contributions are used to grow and enhance economic development in our various markets. We are very pleased to play our part in supporting Africa’s progress, and giving Africans hope, dignity and opportunity. Beyond the continent’s borders, the tax landscape continues to evolve,” said Molefe.

She acknowledged that faced with reduced fiscal revenues and the need for greater public spending to support economic activity, many African governments have sought new ways to generate revenue, among them broadening the tax base and increasing tax types and rates.

“We recognise the important role our tax contributions play in uplifting communities across our footprint. Our voluntary Tax Report is an effort to explain our tax affairs in a comprehensive and transparent way, thereby underpinning the trust of our many stakeholders,” said Molefe.

MTN’s corporate social investment is realised annually through various Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Foundations and divisions across their footprint ensuring that the Group reaches the most vulnerable, marginalized communities and members of society.

“In supporting the attainment of sustainable societies across our markets, we take seriously our responsibility to be a compliant and transparent taxpayer,” added Molefe.

She said MTN is committed to leveraging its core capabilities to enable the socio-economic development of the communities in which it operates, underpinned by the Group’s core belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life.

The mobile giant says its corporate social investment strategy aligns to this belief by focusing its core initiatives on digital jobs creation.

This, she said, allows MTN to address the digital skills shortage in Africa while simultaneously creating opportunities for economic growth through ICT-enabled programmes, including its flagship MTN Skills Academy platform.

According to the MTN Tax Report, a secondary focus area aligns to the National Priority Areas (NPA) of the respective host countries and disaster relief projects in times of crisis.

“Through these ICT-enabled and NPA programmes, we continue to serve and support the communities in which we operate, growing our impact year-on-year. In 2023, MTN’s generic corporate social investment totaled R220 million. This investment impacted the lives of 3.6 million members of our communities, 2.9 of which were youth, as the largest and most impacted population group across our markets,” said Molefe.

Furthermore, 126.2 million women and young girls were empowered. MTN programmes allowed young people to engage in activities to grow their knowledge, access education, learn new skills, and develop through a diverse range of uplifting activities.

Operating in 19 markets, MTN says it has tight measures in place that manages its tax affairs which are directly relevant to its shareholders and other internal and external stakeholders.

The measures, the company said, do not only mitigate risk but also ensure that society fully benefits from the economic participation of the MTN Group in their jurisdictions.