Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed that the Federal
Government will soon impose heavy tax on giant technology and digital companies
in Nigeria.
Osinbajo said the Federal Government will utilize its legal
provisions to collect taxes on profits made in the country by global technology
and digital firms not based in the country, but with significant economic
presence.
He disclosed this during an interactive session with a
delegation of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN, led by its
President, Mr Adesina Adedayo at the Presidential Villa on Friday and was
contained in a statement by his spokesman, Laolu Akande.
Osinbajo, however, assured Nigerians that government would not be increasing tax any time soon.
The statement reads partly: “While the Federal Government
will not be raising tax rates at this time, based on the Finance Act 2019, it
is already empowered to widen the tax net, including by collecting taxes on the
Nigerian income of global tech giants with significant economic presence here,
even if they have not established an office or permanent establishment and are
currently not paying taxes in Nigeria.
“In this regard, Section 4 of the Finance Act 2019, provides
that “the Minister (Finance) may by order (of the President) determine what
constitutes the significant economic presence of a company other than a
Nigerian company.
“We have had severe economic downturns which of course
implies that we may not be able to collect taxes with the aggressiveness that would
ordinarily be expected.
“I think the most important thing is that we must widen our
tax net so that more people who are eligible to pay tax are paying. Several
efforts have been made, and I am sure you are aware of the initiatives
including the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) which was
also an attempt to bring more people into the tax net, including those who have
foreign assets.”
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok will be mostly
affected by the new tax imposition when implemented.
These platforms are part of technological companies
operating in Nigeria but are located abroad.
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This Government is crazy, how can u tax a company that doesn't have a physical presence in Nigeria, on what basis pls.
ReplyDeleteThese companies are digital and no office here, therefore they can't be taxed. Or will they tax individuals making income from it, very funny...
Isn't it only when u know I made money on Facebook or YouTube that u will know whether to taxe or not, if I convert the funds and resend it to myself online as Bitcoin or Western Union, how can that be taxed.
This Government likes saying whats not possible, Even the USA has never taxed any digital business that isn't physically located inside the country.
Let's see them try Sha, we dey watch. Foolish leaders, instead of them to resolve security and see how to create jobs and better the lives of citizens, they now want to face Digital Tech businesses cos they now see that's where lots of Nigerians are earning free and legal income from.
Fools...