I’m trying to make sense of the nonsense, which is how I view the proposed Communication Service Tax (CST) now being debated at the National Assembly. Our federal legislators have in their wisdom concluded that the best way to give Nigerians the dividends of democracy is to impose another tax on the consumers and deplete their limited resources even further.We have heard some corporates complain of multiple taxation, particularly the telecom operators who claim being overtaxed by many arms of government. Now these legislators have flung their net wider to drag in subscribers as well into the quagmire.
The Senate and House of
Representatives are both reviewing this bill in parallel with the likely
intention to quickly pass it into law. If they succeed in that plot, we will
have to pay 9% more as CST. What this translates to is that if you use N15,000
in a month for voice calls, SMS, data service and so on, you will have to pay
another N1,350 to your service provider for onward remittance to the
government. Your bill of N15,000 thereby becomes N16,350. The fact that a
subscriber is paying this tax on communication services does not exclude that
subscriber from paying Value Added Tax on the same communication services.
Subscribers now also have the challenge which only operators hitherto faced on
multiple taxation, which is to pay a similar tax on the same service.
It is indeed sad though not surprising that our
lawmakers are aiming to increase the burden of the people they pledged to
serve. After all, their outrageous lifestyles are funded mostly from public
funds.
It is however our collective responsibility to fight
for our rights by ourselves. That is why various consumer rights groups and
other bodies in the communication sector must come together to fight this ill
thought out law.
The Nigerian consumer will bear the burden of this
tax. VAT is bearable enough, but with another tax called CST, investors will
see their Return on Investment (ROI) decrease and may have to review their
future investment plans for Nigeria.
How do you scream for investors with the one side of
your mouth and deter them with the sounds from the other side of the same
mouth?
I’m still trying to make sense out of this nonsense.
Kwankwanso is a telecoms subscriber in Abuja
Hmmmm
ReplyDeleteWhy are the executive and legislative hell bent on putting more n more suffering on the masses. The keep bringing policies that will impact negatively on us.
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ReplyDeleteOkay...
ReplyDelete#FINEST
Seen
ReplyDeleteOk seen
ReplyDeleteIssokay o! Linda take note!
ReplyDeleteOil prices are down, instead of the legislators to think of reviewing their exorbitant salaries and bonuses, they are after how to fleece more money from the masses so their status quo remains the same
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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ReplyDeleteLol
ReplyDelete-D great anonymous now as Vivian Reginalds
#50 , every deposit, senseless hike in electric tariff, hike in pump price, hike in transportation, hike hike hike prices of foodstuff...Garri which was #150 per mudu in Abuja mkts, is now #250, Rice was #300, now #600, Tomato now belongs to our Emperor Dangote, Minimum wage remains 18k w can't even pay for my light bill....we have b calamity on ourselves...yes, they always have words to placate us . We accept or torture but let's wake up & s NO to this govt that don't care if we starve to death
ReplyDeleteAnon...God bless u bcos u just spoke my mind. Lazy Executive and legislative arm wants to kill us with multiple taxation. Wht has govt ever done for me for free and still they want to take wht I have toiled for away frm me. Amadioha will visit dem one by one soon.
DeleteHmmmmm okay
ReplyDeleteChange change change dz all I hear n c
ReplyDeleteJust hearing this for the 1st time! Probably bcos i don't listen to those executhievs who at the slightest opportunity to steal grab it with both hand & care little or nothing about the people who voted them there... This is just as Bizarre as it sounds! These guys have no conscience!!!
ReplyDeleteGOD DEY!that is poor masses resolve,........masses let stop complaining but pray hard for GOD intervention to save us from being enslaved by known few,whom we all know.
ReplyDeleteNa Wao
ReplyDeleteGOD DEY!that is masses violence free resolve,which seems stupid but more powerful.
ReplyDeleteSai buhari oyooyo, sai baba oyooyo........if they like let them tax every step of our foot, if they like let them tax every second of our calls, data n so on, in fact let presidency, NASS, all kitchen n cabinet executives tax de airwel we breath , tax de sun that shines on this country , tax de moon n tax de rainfall ....I will not be surprised , in fact I will only be surprised if all this hike on visually everything does not occur.....Nigerians wanted bubu buhari n pretends to hate hardship, but de de truth of the matter is u can't separate buhari n hardship/dictatorship...NEVER n NOT POSSIBLE.... Ina want buhari n na buhari una get abeg make una stop all this complain mthewwwwww
ReplyDeleteThe more we see, the less we know... This is d era of change d majority voted for, live with it.
ReplyDeleteNeed to read Aboki, Bonario and Juliet's comment on this. Pro-Buhariya
ReplyDeletePlease make a budget and stay by it increase in tariff or not. For example if you budget N5,000.00 for phone monthly and stay by it, if they increase the tariff in any way, then you reduce your talking time. There some excesses no doubt. One day I was in a vehicle with a lady and she was browsing from one social media to the other throughout the duration of the journey. Such action is not good and should be taxed.
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This is incredible
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