Telcos Kick as Kogi Slams New Tax on BTS

Telecommunications operators under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators in Nigeria (ALTON) have kicked against the introduction of business premises tax on transceiver base stations in Kogi State.

ALTON, said this would be in addition to the existing 36 taxes and levies paid to the state government.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON, said that an attempt by the Kogi State Government to increase its internally generated revenue had led it to classify base stations as business premises.

According to him, operators are already paying about 36 statutory and non-statutory taxes and levies through its Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources and Kogi State Environmental Protection Board, among others.

Adebayo said, “Kogi State introduced a new levy on telecoms sites. The state government has defined telecoms sites as business premises.

“We are engaging them because they have a new revenue collection team and part of their formula for revenue generation is the classification of telecoms base stations as business premises, which is not so.”

Adebayo said that the business premises tax demand amounted to multiple taxation as operators were already paying land use charges to the state government.

According to him, offices of telecom operators and not transceiver base stations can be regarded as business premises.

He said the association had written to the state governor and Dr Isa Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, to intervene on the matter.

The ALTON chairman added, “The tower that is providing socioeconomic services cannot be called a business premises and liable to premises charges.

“Don’t forget that on these sites, we pay annual land use charges and on top of the land use charge, you introduce business premises tax.

“We have sought the intervention of the governor and have written to the minister. We are hoping that this will lead to some dialogue with them so that the matter will not escalate any further.”