Telecoms Subscribers in Nigeria Move Against Proposed Phone Call Tax

Telecommunications subscribers in Nigeria have kicked against the Federal Government’s proposed communications service tax.
The new Communication Service Tax Bill seeks to impose, charge and collect Communication Service Tax (CST) and will be levied on service fees payable by users of electronic communication services which will be borne by the customers.
The categories of communication services liable to the tax include voice calls, SMS, MMS, Data and Pay TV.
Describing  the imposition of tax as another way of exploiting the struggling consumers, subscribers urged the government to seek other alternative ways to generate revenue, adding that such bills if passed into law may bring about double taxation as the phone companies would hike their charges.

According to Executive Secretary of ATCON, Ajibola Olude “Already, Nigerians are complaining of economy hardship, imposing another tax on them will add to their burden and in effect, reduce communications growth.

“As far as we acknowledge that it is a trying period for the economy, that is not to say that we should transfer the burden on consumers who are also strongly affected by the harsh economy status.”

“Already, subscribers are already paying high for telecommunications services compared to what is obtainable in other countries. Asides this, telecommunicaton business will be largely affected because subscribers will reduce their interaction with telecommunications services and in turn affect the overall profits of service providers.” Olude noted.

 

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