The Nigerian Federal House of Representatives has announced that it will set up a committee to investigate tax compliance of Information and Communication Technology-aided transport tech and ride-hailing companies operating in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a resolution with the unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Ganiyu Abiodun (APC-Lagos state) during Thursday’s plenary session, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Rep Abiodun stated that ICT is a strategic tool for achieving success and competitiveness in organisations.
What the House of Reps is saying
While moving his motion, Rep Abiodun said, “In recent times, ICT has had significant impacts on the way organisations operate, as it offers tremendous opportunities such as storing, processing, retrieving, disseminating and sharing of information.
“ICT has created many job opportunities for unemployed persons as the people’s desire for comfortable ride services have enabled companies such as Bolt and Uber to spread widely across the country.
“Many transportation activities now occur through online booking and payments which make the ordering of the services easier and efficient.”
He added that the average weekly earnings of Bolt and Uber drivers range between 60,000 to 120,000, while the companies take off 20% and 25% respectively as commission from the earnings of each driver operating on their platforms.
“Cognisant that the companies have benefited from facilities of the Federal Government such as road and security network which grants them ease of doing business, thus they ought to be fully accountable and up to date in tax remittances,” he said.
He added that another necessity of the probe is to see if the ride-hailing companies were compliant with the Companies and Allied Matters Act, considering that the services were online.
The Deputy Speaker of the house, Rep. Ahmed Wase, in his ruling, said that the committee, when constituted was expected to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
