Unlocking grassroots tech @NITRA confab'26: How state tax traps, high RoW costs stifle Nigeria’s digital economy - ITREALMS

Nigeria’s push for global digital competitiveness is facing a critical bottleneck as telecom operators grapple with hidden state-level levies, exorbitant Right-of-Way (RoW) fees, and crippling power deficits, reports ITREALMS.

This was the core warning issued by technology leaders, policy analysts, and industry stakeholders at the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) Innovative and Scientific Conference held on Thursday at Citi Height Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

NGE pushes for tax exemptions to save Nigerian media's watchdog role - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has yet to secure a formal policy action or legal instrument on its request for corporate tax relief and VAT exemptions for the media industry, but President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has publicly "endorsed" and committed to "consider" the comprehensive proposals for fiscal incentives and other interventions, reports ITREALMS.

During the opening of the 21st All Nigerian Editors Conference (ANEC) in Abuja, NGE President Mr. Eze Anaba passionately pleaded for a 5–10 year tax holiday and VAT exemption on essential inputs to save the media’s struggling business model and ensure its constitutional watchdog function, noting that the inability to pay salaries due to soaring production costs, with newsprint alone rising to 1.3$ million to 1.4$ million per tonne, threatens the very existence of many newsrooms.

Soneye to FG: Support media with tax incentives, relief on import duties – ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The immediate past Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Mr. Femi Soneye, has urged the Federal Government to support the Nigerian media with targeted incentives, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking after receiving the NUJ FCT Excellence in Corporate Communications Award, Soneye emphasized the need for tax reliefs and import duty waivers on essential media tools, such as newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure.

Dangote Group pays N402.3bn tax to FG - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Pan African Conglomerate Dangote Industries Limited, (Dangote Group), and its subsidiaries has disclosed that it paid over N402 billion in taxes in 2024, making it the highest taxpayer in the country.

Dangote’s Chief Branding and Communication Officer, Anthony Chiejina, declared during a meeting with some senior media executives who visited him in his Lagos Office that Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and its subsidiaries, namely, Dangote Cement, NASCON, Dangote Packaging Limited among others, remitted a total of N402.319billion for the out-gone year as taxes as responsible business enterprises.

SGF supports Tax Reforms Bills - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has expressed unwavering support for the Tax Reforms Bills, describing it as visionary legislation designed to revamp Nigeria’s economy.

Speaking on TVC’s Politics on Sunday, Senator Akume emphasized that the current tax system is over 50 years in operation and fails to provide maximum benefits to Nigerians. He urged that comments on the bills should be assessed based on its intent, purpose, and credibility, rather than sectional or primordial feelings, citing its nationalistic and pro-poor in nature.

$27.5m: NLNG clarifies 2016 Corporate Income Tax payment to FIRS - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has reacted to recent media reports on Tax Appeal Tribunal which advertently ordered the company to pay the sum of $27.5 million, about N38,665,000,000.00, reports ITREALMS.

NLNG in a press statement available to ITREALMS by the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr. Andy Odeh noted the media reports which suggested that a Tax Appeal Tribunal ordered the company to pay the sum of $27.5 million to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as a revised Company Income Tax (CIT) settlement for 2016.

PwC Nigeria admits three new partners - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The PwC Nigeria has admitted three new partners effective, 1 July 2024, including Marilyn Obaisa-Osula (Consulting & Risk Services), Taiwo Oyaniran (Assurance), and Tim Siloma (Tax & Regulatory Services), reports ITREALMS.

With this, PwC Africa's admission of 15 new partners, ITREALMS gathered showed that 40 per cent are female, thereby the company is marking a significant step towards achieving the firm's gender representation goals in leadership.

Why FG suspended 5% tax on telecoms services - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

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.

EU, British Council train CSOs on tax compliance - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!


The European Union and the British Council in conjunction with the Nigerian regulatory agencies have trained Edo-based Civil Society Organizations on tax compliance and the roles of regulatory agencies.

The two days Agencies Citizenship Driven Transformation (ACT) programme drew facilitators from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission(EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Services( FIRS) and Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) who engaged civil society and non-governmental organizations in capacity-building, roles of regulatory agencies and tax compliance.

Shell emerges top tax compliant company - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has named Shell as a “leading tax compliant organisation in Nigeria for 2021.”

At an award ceremony in Abuja last week as part of the second annual National Tax Dialogue, Shell companies in Nigeria also won the award for ‘remarkable performance in the remittance of various taxes’ in the same year.

VAIDS: Oyedele tasks Nigerian media on tax education

ITRealms:

The Nigerian media has been tasked to take tax education seriously by engaging on the concerned subjects to make their role meaningful to the society, to facilitate the right conversation leveraging on the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), reports ITRealms.

The Partner and Head of Tax and Regulatory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele gave this charge at the 2017 one-day PwC Capability Enhancement Workshop for Journalists at Grand Junction, Landmark Towers, Oniru, Victoria Island in Lagos on Tuesday.

Dwelling on “The Media and Tax Payment – Focus on VAIDS” alongside Tax Partner, PwC Nigeria, Mr. Kenneth Erikume, Mr. Oyedele noted that media must educate itself, so as to educate others, especially the populace who look up to media for right direction.

He also said that Nigerian media should educate the public and encourage them to take advantage of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), stressing that would propel more citizens engagement in the demand for accountability and transparency.

VAIDS, he said is a scheme introduced to change the narrative of tax challenges and inadequacies in the country, which could be declared either online or offline, pointing out that those desirous of using online, should visit www.vaids.gov.ng and those for offline could visit any tax office nearest to them.

Earlier in his presentation on “VAIDS in a nutshell and overview of requirement,” Mr. Erikume, noted that investigations have revealed that trust in government and transparent usage of tax revenue remain largest concerns of citizens, especially among tax payers.

He listed some of the benefits of participating in VAIDS to include “there is no interest, no penalties, no tax prosecution and no tax audit.”

Erikume, pointed out that the scheme which runs from July 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018, describing it as a time-limited opportunity for tax payers to regularize their tax status, relating to previous tax periods.

According to him, in exchange for fully and honestly declaration of previously undisclosed assets and income, the Federal Government through this VAIDS is offering this amnesty, which guarantees that declarants would not face any criminal prosecution for tax offences or become subject for tax investigations.

In the longrun, he said, VAIDS ushers in an opportunity to increase the nation’s general tax awareness and compliance and urged Nigerians to embrace the scheme.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Burden of additional tax on telecom services

 Features@ITRealms:

With the worsening hardship of the current economy, it is bewildering that National Assembly in their imagination should be thinking of a bill of up to 9 per cent tax strictly on electronic communications services, writes Remmy Nweke.

Preamble:

Ms Ifeoma Afam is a school leaver who in search of better life, joined the elder relatives in an Onitsha suburb called Awada; because according to her, the access to telecommunications services have not been very fantastic in her village and she needed to be on top of her future and usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) was first to be optmised.

No sooner than Ifeoma arrived Onitsha in Anambra State, when she heard in the news that a bill was before the National Assembly in the name of Telecommunication Services Tax Bills, 2016 and also referred to as ‘Electronic Communication Service Tax (eCST)’ in both Chambers of the National Assembly.

Double barrel taxation at National Assembly:

Whereas the Senate version of the bill canvassed for nine (9) per cent on Electronic Communication Service Tax, the version originating from the House of Representatives was asking for seven (7) per cent.

For instance, the bill for Act to provide for the instituting Telecommunications Services Tax and Related Matters 2016 sponsored by Hon. Saheed Akinade-Fijabi, representing the Ibadan North West/South West Constituency of Oyo State at the House of Representatives, sought to establish a tax regime to be known as the Communication Service Tax (CST) to be imposed, charged, payable and collected on a monthly basis which shall be assessed, collected and administered in accordance with the provision of the Bill and levied on charges payable by a user of an electronic communication service other than private Electronic Communication Services as may be supplied by Service Providers.

Fijabi, in what has become the mistake of the elites in some quarters, argued that CST will be for any form of recharges to be considered as a charge for usage of Electronic Communication Service, then Fijabi went specific, thus the tax shall be levied on (a) voice calls, (b) SMS – Short Messaging Service, (c) MMS – Multimedia Messaging Service, (d) data usage both from Telecommunication Services Providers and Internet Service Providers; (e) Pay per View TV Stations, etc.

A section of the bill states inter alia “The tax shall be paid together with the Electronic Communication Service charge payable to the service provider by the user of the service. (2) The tax is due and payable on any supply of Electronic Communication Service within the time period specified under subsection (5) of section 6 whether or not the person making the supply is permitted or authorized to be under the Bill provide Electronic Communication Services.

The tax rate, Hon. Fijabi suggested will be 7 per cent of the charge for the use of the communication service.  While the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) established under Section 1 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2007 shall be responsible for collection and remittance of tax to the Federation Account.

He also said, the Federal Government would be responsible for the administration and management of the funds accruing from the tax. The FIRS shall therefore collect the tax and any interest and penalty paid under this Bill.

Condemnation in entirety:

But taking a knock on the bill, the Executive Director, Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke in her opening remarks at the 2016 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum series on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) and Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable in Lagos, condemned the bill in its entirety, saying that the motion before the National Assembly for a 7% tax on all electronic services will further impoverish the teeming unemployed Nigerian youths, thereby, making it more difficult for people to access and share knowledge which the electronic communication is made to abridge.

Mrs. Nweke who is also the president, Domain Name System (DNS) Women Foundation in Nigeria, said, Nigerians and especially women, are already paying for all the mismanagement of her leaders “why make them pay more especially in the present economic downturn?”

Additional condemnation came from the Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA)-lead joint petition with the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) rejecting the bill in all it represents.

GSMA standing in for industry association for mobile operators worldwide; ALTON is for mobile operators of Nigeria; ATCON is for other associated telecom companies, and NATCOMS represents telecom consumers; in unison expressed dismay regarding this bill.

A petition strongly worded and addressed to the Nigerian Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and her counterpart in Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, the four telecommunications interest groups jointly rebuffed the proposed plan by the government to tax electronic communication services in the country.

A copy of the petition obtained by ITRealms, revealed that Mortimer Hope, Director Africa of GSMA, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON, the immediate-past president of ATCON, Engr. Lanre Ajayi and Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, the national president of NATCOMS signed for their respective organisations.

The petitioners equally copied the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Senate President, Dr. Olubukola Saraki and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Dogara Yakubu among others, insisted that if this tax proposal is accomplished, it will not only increase prices for consumers, but stifles further investment in a market already battling multiple taxation.

“If introduced, such tax will result in an increase in prices for consumers, have adverse impacts on the adoption of mobile services and industry investment, and be counter-productive to the longer term national digital strategy objectives set by the Government of Nigeria,” the groups said.

They also said, the bill tends to increase affordability barriers to the uptake of mobile services in the country, citing for instance, a recent World Bank report which showed a 10 per cent increase in mobile broadband penetration in low to middle income countries leading to a 1.38 per cent rise on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

Mobile access for 83m Nigerians:

Pointing out that as at March 31^st 2016, Nigeria has 83 million people with access to mobile services, they lamented that over half of the population are still without a mobile connection, while affordability remains a key challenge to connect the unconnected, who are typically lower income population groups.

They posited that further taxation on electronic communication services will hit lower income consumers the most, who are already struggling due to the adverse economic situation and increased price pressure and for whom affordable access to information and communication technology is critical to their social and economic inclusion, stressing that this will result in a double taxation for consumers who already paid Value Added Taxes (VAT) on telecommunications services.

They argued that the proposal would increase the administrative cost burden on service providers to comply with numerous and complex tax regulations, already high compared to other countries of the world.

The petitioners, requested both ministers to urgently intervene to prevent the adoption of a new tax on electronic communications services to ensure that digital economy delivers its full potential in Nigeria and for Nigerians.

Ndukwe cautions on 9% telecom service tax:

The National Coordinator, Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI)-Nigeria Coalition, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, has warned that an estimated 50 million Nigerians may be denied access to affordable basic broadband connectivity if the proposed Communication Service Tax (CST) Bill 2015 otherwise known as electronic services (eServices) tax of 9 per cent, before the National Assembly.

Dr. Ndukwe, who was a former Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), posited that the bill if passed will widen the digital divide and slow down the level of investment in the telecommunications sector and affiliate industries.

According to him, the Communication Services Tax portends more danger than good for the Nigerian telecommunications consumers, beginning with denying of access to the populace, particularly access to information through the internet.

Taxing telecom consumers, he said, would definitely put rise to the cost of connection to the internet thereby denying the defenseless groups especially women, access to internet.

“Balanced fiscal policy must consider affordability of broadband and ICT, and should not put into place additional barriers that would make internet access unaffordable for hundreds of millions of Nigerians. Nigeria is far behind the more developed countries of the world when it comes to broadband use, and the introduction of the CST will only widen this gap. The National Assembly must reconsider the passage of the CST and its impact on the development of broadband in Nigeria. After such a review, if the introduction of a CST is deemed an absolute necessity, it must consider a lower tax rate than nine per cent: one that would enable it to achieve fiscal revenue targets without undermining broadband affordability and access,” Ndukwe advised.

Conclusion:

ITRealms recollects that before now analysis has shown at least, the proposed seven per cent tax to be levied on consumers of communications services would result in an additional 10 per cent of the population — equivalent to nearly 20 million Nigerians, being unable to afford a basic broadband access.

This analysis also suggested that the passage of such a tax is likely to threaten Nigeria’s ability to achieve its goal of 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018 and undermines the socio-economic progress spurred by increased connectivity.

But as Nigerians await the outcome of the bill, which ordinarily should be ‘dead on arrival’ on the floor of the National Assembly, this will tell if truly members of both chambers are representatives of the people, thereby making the dreams of the likes of Ifeoma to have adequate access to her future unsustainable, if not unachievable while the tax widens the digital between her and rest of the world.

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

FIRS offers 45-day special window to tax offenders of 3yrs

ITRealms:

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has offered 45-day special window to corporate organisations to settle their  tax indebtedness from 2013 to 2015, reports ITRealms.

A public notice endorsed by the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr. Tunde Fowler, and made available to ITRealms, informed this waiver of penalty and interest on tax liabilities within the period under review.

Fowler also said the waiver is to promote voluntary compliance and shield taxpayers from the burden of carrying forward old tax liabiltieis arising from penalty and interest, hence FIRS in exercise of its powers under Section 85 (3) of the Companies Income Tax Act CAP C21 LFN 2007 as amended and replicated in Section 32 (3) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act (FIRSEA 2007).

“… Hereby invites all principal officers, especially chairman, managing directors, chief executive officers, executive and non-executive directors, chief financial officers and all company owners or their representatives, to take advantage of a Special Window to avoid payment of penalty and interest on tax due between 2013-2015,” Fowler said.

According to him, FIRS by this public notice, will grant a pardon stretching back to three years, between 2013 and 2015 to all tax payers in default, provided that such defaulting tax payers, come forward to declare their indebtedness within the 45-day window.

In addition, he said, the tax payers are expected to present a payment plan on the outstanding principal tax liability acceptable to the Federal Board of Inland Revenue.

“That this Special Window will be opened for 45 days only, commencing 5th October 2016 terminating 24th November 2016,” he said, stressing that this waiver relates only to accumulated penalty and interest and not principal tax due.

As said by him, based on this waiver, part payment or full payment of undisputed tax liabilities should be paid, while the balance could be paid instalmentally, just as it is expected that a reasonable amount of not less than 25 per cent should be paid on account.

“By this public notice, FIRS invites tax payers who have not been fulfilling their statutory tax obligations, to take advantage of this special window, failing which all legal means at the disposal of the FIRS will be deployed including criminal prosecution of board and management of defaulting orgaanisations,” Fowler said.

Applicants, he explained, who want to take advantage of this special window should forward their applications to FIRS headquarters in Abuja.

Chuks Egbune/GEE 
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Communication tax to impoverish Nigerian youths – Nweke

ITRealms:

The Executive Director, Operations at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, has condemned the Communications Service Tax (CST) before the national assembly, saying that the bill hinged on 9 per cent tax on all electronic services would impoverish Nigerian youths, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the Day-1 of the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum series on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) ongoing at the Digital Bridge Institute, Cappa, Lagos, said she condemned in totality the motion before the National Assembly.

She also lamented that the 9 per cent tax on all electronic services will further impoverish the teeming unemployed Nigerian youths.

“Thereby, making it more difficult for people to access and share knowledge which the electronic communication is made to abridge,” she said.

Nigerians, Mrs. Nweke pointed out, are already paying for all the mismanagement of their leaders, wondering why make them pay more especially in the present economic downturn.

Further, she joined forces with other stakeholders in calling on the Federal government to make Telecoms Infrastructure a Critical National Resource as this would also mean protecting the jobs and businesses online because when telecoms infrastructures are tampered with, “our Jobs and businesses online are affected.”

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
Pix: Executive Director, Operations at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke