AN EXPLORATION OF THE IMPLICATION OF THE BURDEN OF MULTIPLE TAXATION ON THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR

The telecommunications services have witnessed exponential growth in the recent past. This is not unconnected with developments in Information and Communications Technology. Despite this growth, the telecommunications industry has been bedevilled with high and multiple taxation, the resultant effect of which has adversely hindered the overall development in the telecommunications sector. This paper therefore seeks to examine the issue of multiple taxation and how it has impacted on quality telecommunications services. The methodology employed in this paper is doctrinal with the use of both primary and secondary sources of law. The primary source includes statutory provisions and relevant judicial authorities while secondary source includes journal articles and other internet materials. It has been found that the adverse effects of multiple taxation on both the telecommunications service providers and subscribers are too enormous on quality telecommunications services. And this is, among others, as a result of multiple regulatory regime. The paper therefore recommended that all laws and regulations governing telecommunications services should be reviewed with a view to identifying unpleasant multiple regulatory regimes on taxation of telecommunications services and amend or repeal such laws and regulations in such a way to avoid multiple taxes of telecommunications services.