Federal Government Suspends Proposed 5% Tax On Phone Calls And Data

The proposed excise duty on telecommunications services has been suspended by the federal government.

Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, announced this on Monday, September 5, at the first meeting of the Presidential Committee on Excise Duty for the Digital Economy Sector.

Pantami stated that he personally opposed the policy and advised President Muhammadu Buhari against it due to the consequences for the digital economy.

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According to him, the imposition of excise duty in the telecommunications and information and communications technology industries would jeopardize the industry’s current successes.

Pantami also stated that the ICT sector is currently overburdened with multiple federal and state taxes. He went on to say that telecommunications and ICT companies already pay more than 41 taxes and that subjecting them to excise duty would be unfair.