Cliches often find expression in some happenings in this nation. The more things change the more they remain the same. That was the position of French writer, John Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849. His words are very much alive in Nigeria today with uncanny accuracy.
Always, the telecoms industry provides low hanging fruits for tax hunters and the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Serivice wasn’t going to let that attraction pass.“Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, in the exercise of its powers vested in it by Section 104 of the Personal Income Tax Act, has sealed up the following masts due to the huge tax liabilities as established by Kaduna State and Urban Planning and Development Agency ,” said Zakari Mohammed, Head, Corporate Communications, KADIRS.
“Assuming there is any substance in the claim that an operator is owing the state or its agencies, the most honourable thing to do after duly writing them is to go to court. This uncivilised way of revenue drive which necessitates the disrupting of critical services like the one telcos render, should stop,” Adebayo said.
Unfortunately, taxation has remained a source of worry to the telcos who are besieged with a lot of tax demands, more because of the instantaneous success of the sector which hit a tipping point from 2001. To complicate issues a little more, the demands come from the Federal, State and Local Councils.
“The Telecommunications Operators in Nigeria reportedly pay more than 40 different taxes and levies to different Agencies of the Government at Federal, State and Local Government levels in Nigeria,” the document stated.For a country that plans its future on a digital economy, just like most forward looking countries of the world, such tax encumbrances and sundry levies like right of way , base station permits and environmental charges pose major impediments to growth and rollout of services.
I agree with Adebayo that “uncivilised actions such as the one taken by the Kaduna government should not be known with such a respected country like ours.”