The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has hailed the suspension of the 5% excise duty on telecom services by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday.
Chairman of the Association, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, who stated this said the suspension has taken away the burden of collections off the telecom operators and the weight of the subscribers.
Adebayo said that the tax would have compounded the current woes of many Nigerians who are already battling with the increase in the price of several other products and services.
He however noted that telecom operators in Nigeria are currently paying a total of 39 taxes and levies, which need to be addressed by the Tinubu administration.
“We think that the government has done well in this regard by taking the burden away. We must also note that the previous administration had granted an exemption of the telecom services from the 5% excise duty.
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Adebayo said the next thing for the government is to find a way to reduce the number of taxes being imposed on telecom operators by different levels of government across the country.
“What we will task them on next is to confront the issue of multiple taxation in the telecom industry. We currently as an industry are paying as many as 39 different taxes and levies across the country. There is no industry that can sustain that level of demand from governments at different levels. It is not sustainable and it is also not good for our regulation and for our policy environment.
“When people look at the state of health of the industry, and the behaviour of public actors, these are the indices they check. The multiple taxes make our environment unpredictable. You can’t do planning or projections because you don’t just know what will happen tomorrow. So, we think that the government of the day has a duty to confront this issue of multiple taxation and levies in the telecom industry,” he said.
Adebayo added that the telecom industry should not be treated as an extractive industry as it is neither an oil nor gas nor a mineral exploring industry, but an industry providing social services that have impacts on the economy and lives of the people. He said the government has to address tax issues for the state of health of our industry and for the overall benefit of the subscribers.