No Harm in Communication Tax, Nigerians Talk a Lot on Phones – Fowler, FIRS Boss

Babatunde Fowler, chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service
(FIRS), says there is no harm in introducing a communication
tax.

Fowler made this known on Monday while speaking to TheCable on
the sidelines of the ongoing Nigerian Economic Summit Group
conference holding in Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.

“I will put it this way, Nigerians talk a lot on the phone; they
even talk more than is required so for them to have capacity or
revenue to talk that much, I don’t see any harm in paying a little
bit more to government,” he said.

“We compare ourselves to developing countries but Ghana
introduced a 2% education tax and used it to fund their
universities and that is why Nigerians are now going to university
in Ghana. They didn’t look for aid, they did it by themselves.”

At present, lawmakers are proposing a 9% charge for using
telecommunication services in place of a 2.2% proposed increase in
value-added tax being proposed by the federal executive council
(FEC).

Explaining plans by the FIRS to introduce VAT on online
transactions, Fowler said: “All we are saying is that those who use
online facilities, we will give instructions to the banks that once
they make the payment, they will just charge 5% VAT and remit it as
an agent to FIRS.

“By the VAT Act, the minister has the right to change the rate
but this government, I believe wants to carry every stakeholder
along including those in the house and explain to them that this
increase is for the benefit of all Nigerians. And it will only
apply to what I call privileged items like buying a car or lunch in
an expensive restaurant. The money will help the state look after
the needy among us.”

The federal government is making efforts to shore up revenue and
improve the country’s fiscal health.

In his Independence Day speech, President Muhammadu Buhari said
revenue-generating agencies that do not meet targets will be
sanctioned.

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