Nigeria demands R1.4-billion in back taxes from MTN

JSE-listed MTN Group said it’s reviewing a demand by a Nigerian tribunal for unpaid taxes.

The Lagos-based Tax Appeal Tribunal ordered MTN to pay US$72.6-million (about R1.4-billion), according to documents verified by two government officials. Calls to the tribunal for comment weren’t answered.

“We are reviewing the decision of the tribunal and will comment on this when we release our trading statement” on 27 October, the company said on Wednesday in response to questions.

Africa’s biggest mobile operators are increasingly being caught up in tax disputes on the continent.

MTN has a history of impasses in Nigeria and was victorious in a conflict in the West African nation in 2020, when the government dropped a $2-billion claim for back taxes after a 16-month battle.

More recently, Ghana had to abandon a $773-million back-tax bill against MTN that the company disputed.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, its rival Vodacom Group has been embroiled in a tax demand that led the government to seal parts of its offices and freeze its bank accounts.

Mobile industry taxes

Last week, six telecommunications CEOs — including MTN’s Ralph Mupita and Vodacom’s Shameel Joosub — urged African leaders and policymakers to “rationalise” tax for the mobile industry through the development of targeted fiscal policy reforms, such as the removal of tax on low-cost smartphones and sector-specific tax, according to an agreement signed in Rwanda.

Read: MTN terminates tower deal with IHS in Nigeria

Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market by subscribers and the Lagos-listed unit, MTN Nigeria Communications, contributes more than a third of the group’s total revenue.  — Loni Prinsloo and Ruth Olurounbi, (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP

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