Nigerians To Pay More For Phone Calls And Data In New FG Tax

The federal government is set to implement a five percent inclusive excise duty on telecommunications services in Nigeria, a move that will make Nigerians pay a 12.5 percent tax on telecommunications services.

Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed made the announcement on Thursday, July 28, at a stakeholders’ forum on implementation of excise duty on telecommunications services in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ahmed who was represented by the Assistant Chief Officer of the Ministry, Frank Oshanipin, said the five percent excise duty has been in the Finance Act 2020 but was not implemented.

According to the Minister, the delay in its implementation resulted from the government’s engagement with stakeholders.

She said; “Payments are to be made on monthly basis, on or before 21st of every month.

“The duty rate was not captured in the Act because it is the responsibility of the president to fix rate on excise duties and he has fixed five percent for telecommunication services which include GSM.

“It is public knowledge that our revenue cannot run our financial obligations, so we are to shift our attention to non oil revenue.

“The responsibility of generating revenue to run government lies with us all.”