Director-General of the budget office of the federation, Ben Akabueze has stated that the suspension of the five percent excise duty on telecommunication services will affect the 2023 budget.
Akabueze stated this on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television, in reaction to the suspension of the planned 5% telecoms tax as announced by Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy.
Akabueze expressed that it would harm the government’s financial projections for next year’s budget.
Also Read: Proposed Telecom Tax Suspended – Isa Pantami
He also said the federal government may need to rework its recent medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) due to the development.
“If we are formally advised that this is no longer applicable, then we will have to rework that Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
“What that means is that the projected revenues will decline and the deficit will increase, which means that we either have to cut back on expenditure or increase debt.
“The MTEF proposal has a total of N19.76 trillion, with a proposed deficit of N12.42 trillion. We face critical fiscal challenges which we need to address.”
https://www.thecable.ng/suspension-of-5-excise-duty-on-telecom-services-will-affect-2023-budget-says-akabueze/amp
