Spark earns the most telco revenue, so pays the highest levy.
Mercury NZ, Cello Group and Feenix Communications are all now earmarked to contribute to the government's Telecommunications Development Levy.
The Commerce Commission released its draft decision on the allocation of payments for the government’s $10.5 million levy today.
The levy is paid by providers with gross revenues over $10 million in telecommunications services revenue in the preceding year. The amount each provider pays is proportionate to their gross revenue from telecommunications services during the year.
The draft determination proposes that Spark NZ, Vodafone NZ, Chorus, and 2degrees pay approximately 87 per cent of the levy for the year to 30 June 2022. The remainder is divided among 20 other liable providers.
(Update: the draft levy was approved unchanged on 8 December, 2022.)
In top spot with $1.5 billion in qualified of revenue, Spark is set to pay $3.4 million towards the levy.
Mercury NZ, which includes Now NZ, joins the levy list in ninth place, just after Sky Network Television, having bought Trustpower's telecommunications business as part of a $441 million bundle last year.
The commission reported Mercury earned $42.5 million in telecommunications revenue during the year and would be liable to pay just under $100,000 towards the draft levy.
Cello earned $10.8 million of liable revenue while Feenix had $5.2 million.
The Government uses the funds collected by this levy to pay for telecommunications infrastructure and services that are not commercially viable, including the relay service for the deaf and hearing-impaired, broadband for rural areas, and improvements to the 111-emergency service.
Submissions on the commission's draft determination are due by 5pm, 9 November and the commission said it expected to release its final determination in December.
