On November 2, Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential committee on tax policy and fiscal reforms, claimed MTN Nigeria is the largest value-added tax (VAT) contributor in Nigeria, remitting over N200 billion monthly.
Oyedele spoke during a town hall meeting where he spoke on the tax reform bills.
“MTN is the largest contributor to VAT in Nigeria. In fact, they pay VAT of over N200 billion every month,” he said.
“The gap between them and number two is daylight and darkness apart.”
WHAT IS VAT?
According to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), VAT is a consumption tax paid when goods are purchased and services rendered.
It is described as a multi-stage tax, borne by the final consumer.
“All goods and services (produced within or imported into the country) are taxable except those specifically exempted by the VAT Act. VAT is charged at a rate of 7.5%,” FIRS said.
“Some goods and services such as non-oil exports are zero-rated. All taxable persons are required to file VAT monthly returns not later than 21st day following the month of transaction.”
On May 8, Oyedele said the VAT rate, which is currently 7.5 percent, needs to be increased.
Reacting to the recommendation on September 8, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar criticised the proposed VAT hike, describing it as a “regressive and punitive policy”.
After that, Wale Edun, minister of finance, clarified that the federal government had not increased the VAT rate.
On October 13, TheCable reported that the national assembly was considering a bill proposing an increase in VAT from 7.5 percent to 10 percent.
MTN NIGERIA TAX PAYMENTS
According to FIRS, all businesses operating in Nigeria must file annual tax returns based on their legal structure, operations, assets, and transactions.
In Nigeria, MTN pays tax to the service, including VAT, withholding tax, company income tax, stamp duties, tertiary education tax, and information technology levy.
Amid doubts about the accuracy of the 2021 tax figure announced by MTN Nigeria, the telecom operator made clarifications, giving a breakdown of its operations.
The company explained that it paid VAT on revenue worth N98.99 billion, withholding tax culminating in N71.17 billion, and company income tax of N99.28 billion.
MTN Nigeria said stamp duties were worth N8.47 billion, tertiary education tax was N10.64 billion, and information technology levy totalled N3.09 billion, culminating in direct remittance of N291.7 billion.
The network service said it paid a tax of N725.3 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, as well as N549.3 billion in 2023, according to sustainability reports of the organisation.
However, the company did not specify the amounts paid as VAT to the government.
On average, this means the telecoms operator paid N60.41bn and N45.7bn every month as overall tax in 2022 and 2023, respectively — much lower than the total VAT mentioned by Oyedele.
In addition, according to the 2024 Q1 to Q3 unaudited financial results, the company said it recorded N33.53 billion.
In the VAT collection report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the information and communications sector where MTN Nigeria is subsumed, remitted N256.34 billion in the first and second quarters of 2024.
Consequently, suggesting that the company makes a monthly remittance of N200 billion is impractical.
TheCable reached out to Oyedele to get clarification on his data source but calls and messages sent to him were not responded to.
VERDICT
Oyedele’s claim that MTN Nigeria pays over N200 billion monthly as VAT is false. On average, the company’s total tax payments are far lower than the amount put forward by Oyedele.
