MTN, NITDA support ICT taxation, clean summit

MTN Nigeria Communications Limited and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) have thrown support for the Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) and Clean Environment Summit.

A press statement from the coordinating entities; AIT Infotech Network, eWorld Magazine and IT Edge, disclosed that MTN Nigeria has confirmed its support for the conference which is being anchored by three media organisations in the ICT industry, saying “it’s timely and topical.”

In the same vein, the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) endorsed the conference slated to hold on July 30, this year, at Sheraton Hotel, in Lagos.

The organizers said that the summit is a pioneering role to provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss protracted issue of multiple and in some cases illegal taxation that has plagued the sector.

Noting that this is the first time all the stakeholders both from the ICT and agencies from the three tiers of government are being rallied to a common platform to discuss the issues in a more holistic and collaborative manner.

“It will be recalled that previous talks on these issues have been largely sectional and did not involve all the stakeholders,” part of the statement read.

Before now, both Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Association of Licensed Telephone Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) have declared support for the summit.

As said by the organizers, multiple taxations have continued to be a source of worry to telecom operators who argued that the various taxation levies by the three tiers of government in Nigeria are illegal and have contributed to weigh down on their profitability and investment sustainability.

“The tax administrators have argued otherwise, creating the scenario that the parties involved are not communicating appropriately and understandably,” said Aaron Ukodie, the chief executive of eWorld.

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