A new report unveils secret mobile phone charge hidden from customers for years. The tax has been discovered by a research by the Terminate the Rate campaign.

According to the Terminate the Rate research, each time you call a mobile from a landline in Britain, you pay a tax. Taxes on beer (15.6%), insurance (17.5%) and fuel (52.2%) are all exceeded by the little known Mobile Termination Rates (MTR), which account for as much as 80% of the price per minute of a call from a home phone line to a mobile.

Hugh Davies of 3, speaking for the Terminate the Rate campaign, said: “Hidden taxes on things like petrol and beer can be annoying, but MTRs far exceed these taxes in percentage terms and the vast majority of the British Public are unaware that they even exist. In these tough economic times any unnecessary costs are hard for people to bear – one that represents up to 80% of the value of the product it’s attached to is too much. It’s time to bring these rates down to a level that’s fair for all phone users.”

In May 20 this year, mobile phone operator 3 has launched a campaign to call for an end to high Mobile Termination Rates and are calling on Ofcom to Terminate the unfair Rate and bring it down to about a penny or less, saving hundreds of millions. The campaign’s name bears the core message of the movement, Terminate the Rate, and thus far it managed to get the attention of consumers.