The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the government to establish a regulatory setting that will promote investment in telecommunications infrastructure to boost the country’s digital economy. This is coming after the recently signed National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2021 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Director-General of the Chamber, Dr. Chinyere Almona said the bill which is replacing the National Health Insurance Scheme Act, 2004, positions a new telecoms tax equivalent to a minimum of one kobo per second on phone calls by subscribers.
He Acknowledged that the private sector has always been committed to supporting the government’s efforts in providing some public infrastructure for all or mainly for the poor.
The repercussion of the new bill is that subscribers will be made to pay more for telecom services. “Companies that depend heavily on the telecommunication infrastructure to deliver their services will likely begin to add cost burden even as they are still struggling to comply with about thirty-six different taxes, Almona Noted.
“Since the liberalization of the telecoms sector in 1999, licensed GSM operators have invested heavily in infrastructure to guarantee quality service to telecom subscribers. Due to the rising cost of operations, telecom companies under the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) have put a plan in place for a proposed 40 percent increase in the cost of calls, SMS, and data in the coming weeks.” She re-emphasis more on why the government should invest more in telecoms infrastructure for a successful digital economy and minimize disruptions to telecoms companies’ operations while enforcing tax compliance.
For the realized funds, estimated to be about N90 billion yearly and meant to finance free healthcare for the vulnerable groups, the LCCI boss advised that it be managed to achieve the objective of the tax.
