FG Ready To Tax Profits Made By Google, Twitter In Nigeria, Says Osinbajo

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FG Ready To Tax Profits Made By Google, Twitter In Nigeria, Says Osinbajo
Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has expressed that the federal government is set to tax profits made in Nigeria by global technology and digital firms not based in the country, but with a significant economic presence.

Laolu Akande, vice-president’s spokesman, in a statement on Sunday, quoted Osinbajo as saying this during an interaction with a delegation of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).

Osinbajo stated that the federal government will not be raising tax rates at this time but will utilise the legal provisions of the finance act of 2019 to receive taxes from the tech firms.

He also stated that although the social media companies and technology firms are not established in Nigeria, they possess a significant economic presence in the country.

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“We have had severe economic downturns which of course implies that we may not be able to collect taxes with the aggressiveness that would ordinarily be expected,” he said.

“I think the most important thing is that we must widen our tax net so that more people who are eligible to pay tax are paying.

“We have also recently taken a step with respect to a lot of the technology companies that are not represented here but who do huge volumes of business here.

“The finance act has shown that we are very prepared to ensure that these big technology companies do not escape without paying their fair share of taxation in Nigeria. Many of them do incredible volumes here in Nigeria and in several other parts of the region.

“We have drawn up the regulations and we are prepared to go, and I think that we are at least in a good place to tap into some of the tax resources we can get from some of these companies.”

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