Nigeria Government Suspend Proposed Telecommunications Tax

The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami announced that the Federal Government has suspended its proposed excise duty on telecommunication services.

He made the declaration on Monday during the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Committee on Excise Duty For Digital Economy.

It will be recalled that Investors King had reported in August that the Communication Minister kicked against the Federal Government proposal to impose a 5% tax on call, text, and broadband used by Nigerians 

The minister lamented that the telecommunication sector is already overwhelmed by excessive and multiple taxation. He insisted that the proposed 5% tax on call, text, and broadband will increase the cost of telecommunications services. 

The minister, who spoke at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications indigenous Content Expo, NTICE, in Lagos, said the sector, which was already drawing in massive interest, creating jobs, and enlarging huge revenue to the GDP, should not be inconvenienced with such taxes.

He said: “The 5 percent excise duty will overburden the industry. As a Minister, I was neither consulted nor obtained a memo to that effect. Even the appropriate lawmakers that were supposed to be talked with have also told me they were not.

”Things are not done that way. Besides condemning the tax, we will take every lawful step to guarantee that the tax does not stand.”

At the inaugural meeting today, Pantami said he personally rejected the policy and advised President Muhammadu Buhari against it given the effects it would have on the digital economy. 

According to him, the introduction of excise duty in the telecommunication and information and communications technology industry would jeopardise the successes already recorded within the industry.

However, the suspension of the 5% telecommunications tax will have a significant effect on federal government revenue. The telecommunication tax which was captured in the finance act was to generate about N160.46 billion for the federal government in 2023.