Nigerian Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Pantami has opposed the government’s plan to impose an additional five percent excise tax on telecom services in Nigeria.
He argued that the ministry, which oversees the industry, was not consulted and that the timing of such a tax at a time when Nigerians are facing hardship is antithetical to the growth of the industry.
Pantami was speaking at the first Nigerian Indigenous Content Expo 2022 held at the Landmark Center in Lagos, a statement from Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) spokesman Reuben Muoka said.
The exhibition was organized as part of the efforts to pursue the goals of the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunication Sector, through the National Office for the Development of the Indigenous Telecommunication Sector located at the NCC .
“I was not consulted before the decision on the five percent excise tax was made, and it was unfair to impose that tax on an industry that was already burdened with other taxes and already contributed about 17 percent of the country’s revenue. “, said. he said she.
The National Assembly, which was also not consulted on the matter before it was made public, has already agreed with Pantami’s position, he said.
Minister Isa Pantami… the minister says that data protection will be a game changer in Nigeria.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed announced that the federal government is preparing to implement a 5% excise tax on telecom services in Nigeria, and Nigerians will soon start paying a tax 12.5% on those services
This means that five percent will be added to the already existing 7.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on telecommunications services. The government increased the Value Added Tax from 5 to 7.5 percent in 2020.
According to Ms. Ahmed, the 2020 Finance Act had a five percent excise tax that never came into effect.
The move has been criticized by telecom operators and subscribers.
The burden will fall on the use of censored telecommunications, said Association of Licensed Telecommunications Owners of Nigeria (ALTON) President Gbenga Adebayo.
This means that users will now pay a 12.5 percent tax on telecommunications services, and the 5 percent excise tax on those services will no longer be subsidized.
This is due to the 39 different taxes we already pay, as well as electricity epilepticus since we spend so much money on diesel, he said.
Likewise, the president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Ikechukwu Nnamani, who spoke through the Executive Secretary, Ajibola Allude,
said the 5 percent excise tax on telecommunications services was out of date.
He said the industry was in dire straits and urged that the 5 percent excise tax be cut because it could lead to job losses.