Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has announced that the proposed 5% excise tax on telecommunication services has been eliminated.
The government said that this was in accordance with the recommendations of the Presidential Review Committee on Excise Tax in the Digital Economy Sector, which was established to examine the implementation of excise duty in the telecom industry.
“I am pleased to inform you that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the exemption of the digital economy sector from the 5% excise duty to be paid. This is due to the strength of the argument presented to him by the Committee that an additional burden on the telecom sector will increase the sufferings of Nigerians, and that other sectors that are not contributing as much to the economy should be challenged to do more and pay the 5% excise duty,” Pantami said.
Many MSMEs and SMEs rely on the industry for survival; if the tax is raised, it will have a negative impact on these companies.
