Telecoms Operators Berate FG Over Plan To Tax Subscribers

0

Telecommunications operators in the country have berated the Federal Government over the planned new tax on telephone users in the country.

The FG had last week revealed plans to introduce a new tax on telephone users in the country, proceed of which is targeted at funding free healthcare for the vulnerable in Nigeria.

In the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2021 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari last week, the new telecoms tax in the equivalent of a minimum of one kobo per second for phone calls is a part of the sources of funds required to finance free healthcare for the vulnerable group in Nigeria.

However, the service providers under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, described the development as badly intended.

The operators said the implication is that subscribers will get less value for any recharge they make when implementation begins fully.

It also wondered why their plea for a 40 percent tariff hike was rejected by the government and now introduced another tax on subscribers they claimed have been over-laboured

Speaking with the press recently, the Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, said, “It is bad fate on the part of government and I think it is badly intended. This is because when we came out that government should look at our cost of operation and give us room to review tariffs, everybody treated us like an outcast. The same government is now coming in a matter of days to say they are introducing new taxes.

“So, if we cannot review based on the impact it will have on subscribers, why are they bringing in another tax, still on subscribers. Government cannot act in one way and say another thing.”

Adebayo said the impact would affect subscribers significantly. According to him, “this is because they will get less value for what they pay for. It means now that when you buy N100 recharge card, the percentage for tax will be deducted from it and paid to government. So, it is actually shortchanging the people.”

On his part, the President, of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said: “It is unfortunate that the government is viewing telecoms as a cash cow. This should not be. There is a lot of corruption in the system and rather than curb that, they want to focus on the telecoms sector. By the way, what do they mean by vulnerable? Vulnerable people are probably 80 percent, so we are all vulnerable.”

Ogunbanjo queried what has happened to the health budget. “Why should it be telecoms again? The government should look elsewhere for money. This new action is only likely to impoverish more Nigerians and they are masquerading as helping the vulnerable. This is not right.

“If this stands, the taxes are likely going to be diverted into the national corruption largesse of the nation. They should leave telecoms alone. Let the Federal Government clean up the NNPC and tax it anew. The recent global energy crisis is helping the price of crude oil, shouldn’t they be focused on getting extra revenue from there. They shouldn’t touch telecoms. They should fund the health budget very well. There is a need to check corruption in the system and not spread their extraction tax to Nigeria.

“How will they even identify the vulnerable? Businesses will have to increase their costs because whatever affects telecoms affects everyone.”

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.