BREAKING: Buhari Add New Tax On Telephone Calls (Read Details)

 

 

The Government of Nigeria in a bid to fund free healthcare for the Vulnerable Group in Nigeria has added a new tax on phone calls.

Nigeria’s President, General Buhari had last week signed the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2021, and the telecom tax in the equivalent of a minimum of one kobo per second for phone calls is captured in the Bill, as one of the sources of funds required to finance free healthcare for the Vulnerable Group in Nigeria.

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In the words of Taiwo Oyedele, a Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers: 

 

“S.26 of this new law imposes a telecommunications tax of not less than 1kobo per second on GSM calls. With call rates at about 11kobo per second, this translates to a 9 percent tax on GSM calls.

“The tax is one of the sources of money to the Vulnerable Group Fund to subsidize the provision of healthcare to the group defined to include children under five, pregnant women, the aged, physically and mentally challenged, and the indigent as may be defined from time to time.”

 

The new act is expected to provide several options such as a basic health care provision fund to the authority; health insurance levy; telecommunications tax, not less than one kobo per second of GSM calls; money that may be allocated to the Vulnerable Group Fund by the Government; motley that accrues to the Vulnerable Group Fund from investments made by the Council: and grants, donations, gifts, and any other voluntary contributions made to the Vulnerable Group Fund.

 

Every resident in Nigeria is expected to obtain health insurance under the new act.