FG COLLECTS N600bn VAT FROM FACEBOOK AND OTHERS

The Special Adviser on Tax Policy to the Chairman of the Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Mathew Osanekwu, has revealed that Nigeria has successfully collected over N600bn in Value Added Tax from global digital service providers such as Facebook, Amazon and Netflix.

He explained that amendments to the VAT Act had empowered the Federal Inland Revenue Service to bring non-resident companies offering services in Nigeria into the tax net. “These are not Nigerian entities, but they are now paying VAT under Section 10 of the VAT Act. They are registered in Nigeria and are also appointed as agents of collection,” Osanekwu stated during a workshop for media practitioners in Abuja on Wednesday.

He stressed that the move aligns with global best practices and ensures Nigeria benefits from taxes on services consumed locally but delivered by foreign companies.

Also at the event, the Federal Government clarified that President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing fiscal and tax reforms have not introduced any new taxes, contrary to widespread speculation.

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Professor Taiwo Oyedele, explained that the reforms were designed to ease the tax burden on low- and middle-income earners while ensuring equity and fairness.

According to him, many of the levies being debated in the public space, including the controversial five per cent fuel surcharge, are not new but provisions in long-standing laws predating the current administration.

“It’s not a new tax. Some said the tax is being proposed. The tax is not being proposed. Some believe this president has introduced tax after tax, and I challenge them to point to one newly introduced tax,” Oyedele said.

He reminded participants that in July 2023, barely two months after assuming office, President Tinubu signed four executive orders suspending taxes that had been hurriedly introduced during the final days of the previous administration. These included excise duties on plastic items and vehicle importation.

“Many of us are not even aware because this president did not allow those taxes to take effect. They were suspended and eventually removed,” Oyedele added. He further clarified that the much-debated Cybersecurity Levy was enacted years ago, stressing that Tinubu’s administration did not originate it.

Culled from The Punch Newspaper