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MTN Nigeria has expressed grave concern over the arbitrary shutdown of its base transmitting facilities by the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS), over allegations that it has not met its tax obligations to the government.
The state government is demanding for immediate payment of social service contribution levy, employee development levy and annual rent for Right-of-Way (RoW) on fibre optics cable.
But according to MTN’s Corporate Relations Executive, Tobechukwu Okigbo, the Taxes and Levies Act, which introduces the social service contribution and economic development levies mandates the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to recommend chargeable fees, which will be subject to the Minister of Finance’s approval.
“To the best of our knowledge, the Minister of Finance’s recommendation as provided in the Act is yet to be issued, and as such, it is unclear if the imposition of the taxes by the Kogi State government is on solid legal footing. As a responsible corporate citizen, we accord the highest priority to our sub-national tax commitments. We wish to state that we have met in full all our tax obligations to the Kogi State government and are not in arrears,” he said.
