Following the passage of the Tax Reform Acts in 2025, a rumor began to spread that the government had surreptitiously included an “Internet Usage Tax.” The claim stated that for every gigabyte of data consumed, a 10% levy would be deducted from the user’s airtime or data balance starting January 1, 2026. This caused significant backlash from the tech community and younger Nigerians.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has issued a clarification stating that no such tax exists. The FIRS explained that the 2025 tax reforms focused on simplifying corporate taxes and providing exemptions for small businesses, not on taxing individual data consumption. The 7.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) already applicable to telecommunications services remains unchanged, and no additional “usage tax” has been introduced.
The Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy also added that the government’s goal is to reduce the cost of data to achieve a 70% broadband penetration target, making a new data tax counterproductive. The rumor likely stemmed from a misinterpreted clause regarding the taxation of large international tech companies operating in Nigeria.
