Adewolu Adeleke, the NCC's Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, revealed this during his keynote speech at the Regional Stakeholders Workshop on Multiple Taxations and Regulation on Wednesday in Kano.
At the one-day session with the theme "Navigating the Landscape of Multiple Taxation and Regulations, Fostering Sustainable Growth through Collaboration," the Executive Commissioner was represented by Efosa Idehen, Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement.
He clarified that the proliferation of taxes and regulations is having an effect on the development of the telecom infrastructure, which is the foundation of the digital economy together with all other infrastructure.
But he clarified that by "many irregular, often duplicated and sometimes hastily posed taxes and charges which some Agencies pursue for short-term revenue gains neglecting the greater long-term impacts of their actions on investor confidence, the socioeconomic wellbeing of our people and overall national economic growth," he meant "the many irregular, often duplicated and sometimes hastily posed taxes and charges" rather than the lawful taxes imposed by appropriate authorities after necessary due processes.
He cited a few instances from state and local government organizations of similar taxes and restrictions that are imposed without the necessary legal support and have an overall negative impact on the productivity of the industry.
The cost of the services that consumers receive is increased, he claimed, by the numerous taxes and regulations placed on garbage collection, environmental impact fees, infrastructure maintenance, value added tax, and sales tax, all of which must be paid concurrently.
The Commissioner demanded that the issue of various taxes and regulations be resolved immediately and offered a remedy.
"Therefore, I'm happy to report that President Bola Ahmad Tinubu, GCFR, established the Presidential Tax Reform Committee as one of his most important first acts in office. We are certain that the committee, to which we have submitted our ideas, will make the appropriate recommendations in order to finally handle the different aspects of the MTR (multiple taxes and regulations) problem.
We believe that the Nigerian economy can reach its full potential if comprehensive tax reform is given top priority. The goals of these changes need to be to increase transparency, get rid of duplication, and streamline the tax code.
"To create a harmonized tax structure that fosters economic growth rather than stifles it, government at all levels must collaborate."
The commissioner issued a warning, stating that the industry would only be able to meet the Federal Government's targets if new infrastructure was quickly deployed and existing infrastructure continued to function flawlessly. These targets included a 90% increase in broadband penetration by 2027, a 50% improvement in quality of service by the end of 2024, a 15% increase in investment in the sector, a 22% increase in GDP contribution by 2027, and a 20% reduction in the communication gap to rural communities.
For example, the industry saw more than 35,000 fiber cuts in 2022 and more than 24,000 fiber cuts through the first half of 2023. In a similar vein, more than N14 billion has been used to fix damaged fiber.
In a similar line, more than 18,000 cases of access denial were reported in 2022, and more than 6,000 occurrences have been reported so far in 2023.
Such statistics are not likely to inspire anyone to make an investment. Thus, it is our collective responsibility to end this threat once and for all.