THE Federal Government of Nigeria has said that telecommunication consumers in the country would soon commence payment of five percent tax on calls, SMS, data, and other telecoms services.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, made this disclosure in Abuja, on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Stakeholders Forum on the Implementation of Exercise Duty on all Telecommunications Services.
Defending the Government’s position, the Minister who was represented by the Assistant Director, Tax and Policy, Mr Musa Umar said that other countries in Africa have also adopted new means to generate revenue for their countries.
“The issue of revenue is not something that we need to shy away from as our revenue can no longer take care of our needs as a country.
“Also, Nigeria is no longer making enough money in oil revenue hence the attention is shifting to non-oil revenue,” she said.
Reacting to this, major stakeholders in the communications sector have kicked against the move, describing it as anti-people, provocative and insensitive.
The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) made their position known during the Stakeholders forum.
The various associations argued that such imposition would further worsen the already-suffering Nigerian masses.
The new 5% exercise duty is part of the new Finance Act signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020, and is to be collected by the Nigerian Customs Service.
