The Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS, Muhammad Mamman Nami, has denied claims the agency plans to tax social media businesses.
Punch had reported that Executive Chairman of the agency, Muhammad Maman Nami had disclosed plans to drag social media businesses into the agency’s tax net when he spoke at the ongoing meeting between the Senate Joint Committees working on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, and heads of revenue-generating agencies.
Nami was quoted to have said “You are aware of the issues of the digital economy and the challenges of policing the digital taxpayers like Twitter and Facebook. So, we are going to come up with the rules and provisions that the National Assembly will passionately look at and approve for us so as to bring them to the tax net. We want to see a way of taxing online activities and businesses.”
However, while speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Mathew Gbonjubola, the Group lead, Special Tax Operation Group at the FIRS, denied any plans to tax social media businesses.
He said “With respect to the question on the social media tax, I am sorry if I disappoint you but I am hearing this for the first time. I am not aware that FIRS has presented any bill to the National Assembly to request any social media tax. I can tell you on behalf of the executive chairman that is not from us. So if there is any such bill at the National Assembly, the FIRS is not a sponsor”