The bill, titled, “A Bill for an Act to Repeal Certain Acts on Taxation and Consolidate the Legal Frameworks relating to Taxation and Enact the Nigeria Tax Act to Provide for Taxation of Income, Transactions, and Instruments, and Related Matters,” aims to implement excise taxes on certain services offered in Nigeria, including gaming, betting, lotteries, and telecoms.
“The amount of an excisable transaction is the amount chargeable for the service by the service provider, both in money or money’s worth,” the bill reads partly.
“Services, including telecommunications, gaming, gambling, betting, and lotteries however described, provided in Nigeria shall be charged with duties of excise at the rates specified under the Tenth Schedule to this Act in a manner as may be prescribed by the Service,” it adds.
The Nigerian newspaper, The Punch, revealed that telecom services, including postpaid and prepaid services regulated by the Nigerian Communications Commission, would be subjected to a 5% charge, as per an outline of the excise duty structure in the law.
The bill further sets requirements for currency transactions, noting that excise duty shall be applied to any disparity between the actual transaction rate and the current Central Bank of Nigeria exchange rate.
The country’s administration intends to strengthen its non-oil revenues as it faces one of its country worse economic crises in history.
Nigeria Telecoms’ struggles in recent months
In August, it was reported that Nigeria’s telecom sector was facing serious threats due to rising costs and unsustainable pricing.
This was highlighted by that fact that for the six months ended in June, the group recorded a loss of 7.39 billion rand ($414.7 million), as opposed to a profit of 4.14 billion rand during the same time the previous year.
The loss is MTN’s first since it paid a fine of more than $1 billion imposed on the company by the Nigerian government, per Bloomberg.
