The Federal Government has suspended the introduction of five percent excise duty in the digital economy sector. This tax was earlier proposed by the Minister of Finance.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami disclosed this in Abuja during the inauguration of a committee that will review the policy.
Pantami said he opposed the policy and advised president Muhammadu Buhari against the policy due to the effects that the policy would have on the digital economy.
Pantami said that the introduction of excise duty in the telecommunication and information and communications technology industry would jeopardise the successes already recorded within the industry.
Pantami also noted that the ICT sector is already over-burdened with multiple taxations at both federal and state level.
He noted that there are more than 41 taxes that telecommunication and ICT companies are paying and that it would be unfair to further subject them to payment of excise duty.
Sequel to the new development, a presidential committee on the review of the excise duty in digital economy has been inaugurated by the federal government.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isah Pantami is the chairman of the committee and the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed is a member.
Other members are the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Muhammad Nami and representatives of the telecommunication industries.
