More Woes for Nigerians as FG set to impose 5% tax on Calls, Data

More Woes for Nigerians as FG set to impose 5% tax on Calls, Data

As Nigerian continue to lament over recent rising inflation and insecurity challenges, more woes await telecommunications consumers in the days ahead, as the Federal Government has concluded  plans  to impose 5% excise duty on all telecommunications services ranging from calls, SMS to data services.

The new 5 per cent excise duty is part of the new Finance Act signed into law by the President in 2020.

In her presentation, at a recent stakeholders meeting of Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, urged stakeholders to support the implementation of the 5% excise duty, saying the decision was informed by the dwindling revenue of the federal government from oil and gas.

Zainab, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Tax and Policy, Mr Musa Umar, commended the NCC for providing the opportunity to interact with stakeholders and to welcome their inputs in the revenue generation drive.

However, stakeholders in the telecommunication industry as well as some well meaning Nigerians have rejected the move by the FG arguing that such imposition would further aggravate the suffering of the Nigerian masses who had already been pushed into hardship and extreme poverty.