Telecoms industry group to host national dialogue on taxation and non-oil sectors

The Telecommunication and Technology Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG) will host an industry conversation addressing the country’s economic recovery and sustainability of organizations from a tax perspective against the backdrop of the global coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.

The Telecommunication and Technology Sustainability Working Group is a multi-stakeholder network set up to bring together interested stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecoms industry for the development of the sector.

For a country like Nigeria, a combination of this with dwindling oil prices and global supply chain disruptions, pose a serious threat to its economic sustainability as it is heavily dependent on revenue from the oil and gas industry to survive.

The dialogue will therefore explore how organizations can support the government through the post-pandemic phase beyond tax remittances whilst also discussing exhaustively opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and progressive regulatory practices.

The webinar aptly themed Fast-tracking Economic Recovery through Robust Tax Policies and Practices has been slated to hold on the 9th of October 2020 and will feature Ben Akabueze, Director-General, Budget Office, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Muhammad Mamman Nami, Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as speakers.

Other experts confirmed to join the conversations are Taiwo Oyedele, Fiscal Partner and West Africa Tax Leader, PwC Nigeria; Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators in Nigeria; Olusola Teniola, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); and Eno Udoma-Eniang, Head, Government & Legislative Affairs, 9mobile.

Expected to participate in the dialogue are Government Agencies, Ministries of Finance, Industry, Trade, and Investments; Federal and State Inland Revenue Agencies, Telecommunications and Technology Regulators, Corporate Organisations and Industry Experts, Non-governmental Organisations, Academia, and the General Public.

One of the avenues employed by the government to increase non-oil revenue is through taxes, following the creation of the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) to develop strategies and actionable plans to cushion the effect of COVID-19 on Nigerians and reposition the economy on the path of recovery, especially growing the non-oil sectors. This has led to various initiatives and regulatory reviews to increase tax rates, expand the tax net, and improve tax administration and transparency.