The federal government in Nigeria has put the brakes on an excise levy that was going to be imposed on the country’s telecommunications industry.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, made the announcement on Monday at the first meeting of the Presidential Committee on Excise Duty for the Digital Economy Sector in Abuja.
According to the minister, the suspension of the planned telecom tax was due to the fact that the telecom industry is already weighed down by high and duplicative taxation.
The Federal Government had already announced, via the Budget Office of the Federation, that it would begin enforcing its proposed telecom tax excise levies on communications services and beverages in 2023.
However, Pantami has been steadfast in his opposition to the adoption of this tax, which would lead to higher prices for Nigerians using telecommunications services.