A bill for an Act to introduce tax on Communication Services and Cable television services, was yesterday passed for first reading by the Senate.
The proposal, entitled “A Bill for an Act to establish the Communication Service Tax” was sponsored by a former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume.
The bill was introduced to replace the 2.2% increase in the Value Added Tax being planned by the Federal Government as announced by the Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmad, recently.
Ndume told journalists shortly after the first reading of the Bill, that the imposition of tax on communication service was a better way of distributing wealth in such a way that would not affect the ordinary Nigerians.
He explained that increasing VAT would have very bitter consequences on the economy, saying that it would lead to a hike in the prices of goods and services and take them beyond the reach of the ordinary people.
The bill provides the charging of 9% on calls and data usage and the pet view cable subscribers.
