Details have begun to emerge on why the Federal Government on Monday, suspended the contentious five per cent excise duty on telecommunications services as proclaimed by the Ministry of Finance, recently, reports ITREALMS.
Disclosed this at the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Committee on Excise Duty for the Digital Economy Sector in Abuja, on Monday, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said the sector was already bleeding with over-taxation.
According to him, following presentations made to him, he followed up with a petition to Mr. President, General Muhammadu Buhari, retired, on the long term consequence of multiple taxation on the sector and was able to secure approval to suspend the exercise.
This approval, Pantami said, paved the way for the constitution of a committee to further examine the tax critical and recommend to the president as deem fit.
ITREALMS gathered that Pantami, who also presides over the committee is comparised of the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and representatives of all the telecom operating companies in Nigeria as members.
ITREALMS recalled that just last mid-last month, the ministry of Finance and the Nigerian Customs Service had announced plans to commence the implementation of proposed five per cent exercise duties on telecommunication services and beverages in 2023.
Reacting to the proposed commencement, ITREALMS gathered that Pantami surprisingly argued against it, stressing that will increase the cost of telecommunications services, impoverish Nigerians the more and widen the gap in telecom access in the country.
ITREALMS equally recollected that the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators in Nigeria (ALTON) led by Engr. Gbenga Adebayo was against the proposed tax, insisting that it will diminish the growth already made in telecom sector.
*Remmy Nweke with Uboshe Uboshe/DoP
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